6th Sense
by Akirafanatic
Summary: Shinichi sees what most others can't. This, among other things, has led to him to push everyone away and renounce his dream of becoming a detective. Can a chance meeting with two teen detectives and a thief get him to open up and remind him of his dream? (Or, Shinichi sees ghosts and stuff and meets Kaito, Saguru, and Heiji at a party) Mentions of Ran and Sonoko in later chapters.
1. The Party

**First time writing for the DC fandom, so I probably didn't get the characters down right. No beta. I obviously don't own DC. Um...I think that's it. Not sure how to explain this story or where it's going, but we'll see.**

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All Shinichi wanted to do was find somewhere to hide so he could finish his new novel in piece. Unfortunately, his mothers' grip on his arm kept him firmly between her and his father. Adjusting the thin oval glasses resting on his nose, the teenager kept his gaze firmly on the text of his new book. Hopefully his mother would get the hint and finally let him retreat into a quiet corner. There was no real need for him to be at the party anyway. He didn't know anybody there besides his parents.

"Shin-chan," his mother huffed, "you're being rude."

"You said I had to come to this," he stated plainly, not looking up from his novel, "you never said anything about me having to socialize."

"Generally going to party means socializing. I didn't have to say it – it was _implied_. Besides, I won our bet."

He scowled up at her. "That bet was impossible to complete within the time given and you know it."

"And yet," his father cut in with a small chuckle, "You still agreed to it."

Glaring slightly at his father, the seventeen year old glanced up at the group his parents had been talking to. "Kudo Shinichi. Nice to meet you." That said, he went back to his reading. Or, he attempted to go back to his reading. Instead, a hand was shoved between his face and his book, a white rose suddenly appearing with a small poof.

Following the hand back to the owner, he raised an eyebrow at the teen standing in front of him. "Kuroba Kaito, aspiring magician!" Shinichi stared at the teen for a while before ignoring the rose and going back to his book.

"Seems he's not falling for your _charms_ Kuroba." The blue eyed teen glanced over at the two other snickering teens. The one who'd spoken was a blond. As if sensing the gaze, he smiled politely and introduced himself. "Hakuba Saguru, detective."

The dark skinned teen next to him grinned. "Hattori Heiji, detective." His accent clearly stated he was from Kansai, or somewhere nearby.

Shinichi only blinked and turned back to his novel once more. "You don't talk much, do you?" Shinichi ignored the magician, hoping he'd go away if he didn't get an answer. Sadly, the other teen seemed intent on talking with him. "Can I call you Shinichi? You can call me Kaito."

"Kuroba, you're annoying him."

"He _clearly_ doesn't want to talk to us, so quit wasting your breath." Shinichi continued ignoring them. It didn't matter what they thought about him. People didn't tend to stick around him to long once they realized how many murders he ran into.

Unfortunately, Kaito was determined. "How come you're wearing gloves? Are you afraid of germs?" Sighing, Shinichi was about to ask him to leave him alone when his glasses were snatched from his face. "Fake glasses? How come you're wearing fake glasses?"

Finally looking up from his book again, the blue eyed teen paused. The adults were talking amongst themselves, but Shinichi was _sure_ he'd met one of them before. The man looked similar to his father. He was _sure_ he'd met the man somewhere, but his mind was coming up blank. The shadows behind him, however, were much more familiar to him.

Kaito seemed to notice his distraction and beamed. "That's my father, Kuroba Toichi! He's a magician! The best there is – until I surpass him."

Catching the mans' – Toichi-sans' – attention, Shinichi suddenly remembered where they'd met before. Flicking his fingers slightly, he held the tarot card for the Moon between his index and middle finger. He held it up in front of his mouth for a few moments, keeping his gaze locked with the elder magician's, before using it as a bookmark and glancing towards the door.

He slumped slightly at the sight of the figure attempting to get someone's attention, only for his hands to go through them. "Hattori-san, Hakuba-san," He said softly, taking his glasses back and putting them back on, "I'm afraid your services may be required here shortly." Looking back towards the figure, all he saw was a small, white, and mostly transparent sphere floating around.

Before the two teens could ask what he meant, a shrill scream carried through the venue, catching everyone's attention. Sparing a glance back at Shinichi, no doubt wondering how he'd known that was going to happen, the two self-proclaimed detectives raced off towards the scream, their fathers right behind them.

"Shall we go lend a hand?"

Reopening his book, the blue eyed teen didn't bother looking at his father. "You have two teenage detectives, plus their law enforcement fathers, and the multitude of policemen and women at this party to help solve it. There is no reason for me to be there as well."

For once, Shinichi was happy for Kaito's interruption. "Are you a magician also?" He asked happily. "You just made that card appear earlier!"

Huffing and sending a small glare towards his mother, he shook his head. "No. It was part of a bet. If I learned magic, I wouldn't have to have a birthday party."

His lips twitched up slightly at the utterly confused look on Kaito's face. "You made a bet to not have a birthday party?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I don't like parties, but my mother continues to insist she be allowed to plan at least one birthday party for me. I kept refusing and she kept insisting until we came up with a compromise. She bets I can't master one thing in a year, and if I win I don't have a party. If she wins, she gets to plan a birthday party for me." He grinned down at his book. "I haven't lost yet."

The other teen looked horrified. "B-But that means you've _never_ had a birthday party!" Shinichi shrugged. He didn't like parties anyway. He'd much prefer to be at home or at the library reading. Unfortunately, Kaito seemed to be of the mind that not having a birthday party was the worst punishment on the planet, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Wincing slightly at the loud volume of Kaito's proclaiming how great birthday parties were, and thankful he had professor Agasa's modified earplugs in, Shinichi wondered if maybe he _should_ have gone with his father. Slipping away when the eccentric magician turned his back, the blue eyed teen made his way towards the murder scene.

His father raised an eyebrow at seeing him. "Kuroba-kun," He answered. His father simply chuckled softly and returned to watching the two teenage detectives argue over the motive.

Slipping towards the wall, Shinichi kept out of the way and quietly took out the modified earplugs before taking off his glasses. He spotted the ghost of the victim right away, standing near the arguing teens and trying to tell them what he remembered.

" **I was just going to take a leak! Next thing I know I was floating above my body! Didn't get a look at who did it, seeing as how they were gone by the time I got to be a ghost, but I'd bet you anything it was that conniving bitch who did it! I told my boy she was no good, that all she wanted was our money, and now here's proof! Offed me to keep me from getting in her way! That cunning, no-good, thieving-"** Shinichi put the modified earplugs back in when he realized the ghost didn't have anything helpful to offer.

Sliding his glasses back on, he glanced up to meet his father's eyes and shook his head slightly. Letting his eyes wander the hallway outside the bathroom, he let his eyes linger on the woman the ghost had pinned the blame on. She had tears in her eyes as she held onto the arm of a young man next to her – the son of the victim.

She seemed more upset at the fact the son was hurting than that the elder man was dead. She obviously cared for him – no matter what the ghost had said – and was doing her best to comfort him. The son was distraught, which was to be expected.

Glancing back at his father, he saw the telltale signs that the elder man had solved the mystery. Pushing off the wall, he made his way back to the party venue. If he was lucky his mother wouldn't spot him and he could finally escape to some peace to finish his novel.

Skirting around the edges in order to avoid the rest of the guests, Shinichi found a cushioned window seat to hide away at. Getting comfortable, as his father tended to have the bad habit of making others figure out what had happened rather than just outright telling them, the blue eyed teen finally continued his book.

He didn't get further than two chapters before he felt the weight of multiple stares on him. Looking up, he found the two teenage detectives staring at him as though he were another mystery, Kaito's gaze mainly seeming thoughtful.

Weighing the option of asking them why they were staring – though he had a fairly good idea as to why – against simply ignoring them, Shinichi let out a small sigh and mournfully closed his book _again_. Turning to the three teenagers, he sat with his book on his lap and waited. The question would come out eventually.

He didn't need to wait long, as once Heiji realized they had his attention, he asked suspiciously, "How did you know?"

"I know a lot of things Hattori-kun. Could you please be a bit more specific?" He was avoiding answering, he knew, but he didn't feel inclined to be subjected to the same ridiculed stares that turned to ones of horror when they realized he wasn't joking. He'd had enough of that.

"You knew someone was going to be killed," Saguru said evenly, his eyes boring into Shinichi's.

"I did not. I knew someone _had been_ killed. There's quite a difference."

"Yet you still knew someone was dead before anyone else," the blond pushed, "And without ever leaving this room. How?"

Keeping his face perfectly neutral, he eyed the three before shrugging and turning away. "Just a feeling." He hoped they'd leave it at that.

"What about earlier?" Raising an eyebrow in confusion, he waited for the magician to elaborate. "That tarot card. The one with the moon on it."

Shinichi stared at the younger magician in silence for a while before raising his book. The edge of said card was poking out from between the pages to mark his place. "I use them for bookmarks."

Three sets of eyes narrowed and the blue eyed teen wondered why he had to deal with this. He'd realized there was a chance of the two self-proclaimed detectives figuring out there was more to it if they understood tarot cards – which he'd hoped they didn't, but obviously that point was moot now – but he hadn't expected Kaito to catch on. Obviously there was more to the magician than originally thought.

"That was obviously a message for Kuroba-san," Heiji said. "What did it mean?"

"I was simply trying to remember where I'd seen him before." Three faces called bullshit. Scowling slightly, he turned back towards his book. "It didn't mean anything. Just a feeling." It wasn't the first time Shinichi had met Kaito's dad, and it wasn't the first time he'd given the elder magician the warning. Whatever he was playing with was dangerous, and the shadow of death around him meant he had to tread carefully if he wanted to make it through whatever ordeal alive.

"You mean like the feeling you got that someone was dead?" Kaito asked. Shinichi detected the faintest amount of a tremor in the teens voice and felt bad. He'd read the news about Kuroba Toichi's near fatal stage show eight years ago. He wondered if keeping quiet would be worse for the magicians' health.

Glancing at him from the corner of his eyes, he shrugged again. "Not exactly." It wouldn't do anyone any good to try and explain.

"The Moon, in regards to tarot cards, represents that things are not as they seem. Deception of one's self, or from another, is strongly indicated. Extreme caution when dealing with others is advised. New information comes to you, possibly in dreams of through a vision. When the truth is exposed, it must be dealt with." The blond looked away from his phone and stared at Shinichi. "Care to elaborate on what that _feeling_ was?"

Sighing and knowing they wouldn't go away, he flicked the Moon tarot card up between his fingers and held it up so they could observe it. "Sometimes I get a bad feeling, so I show this card to the one I got the feeling for. It's my way of saying 'be careful'." Wondering just how much he should say, he looked down as he said softly, "I got the same feeling from Kuroba-san when I met him about eight years ago."

He heard the small intake of air from Kaito, who remembered the day of the accident as if it were yesterday. Blue eyes glanced up quickly and saw understanding dawn on the faces of the other two. Flicking his eyes back to his book, he wondered if the three would leave him alone. Most people, after learning his _feelings_ tended to be right, tended to steer clear of him. They thought he was bad luck. Shinichi couldn't say he wasn't used to it by now.

Ran was the only one who stuck by him, and even then she didn't know the entire truth. The supernatural terrified her, and Shinichi couldn't bring himself to tell her.

He was jolted out of his thoughts as a pair of arms wrapped around him. For a moment, Shinichi's mind went blank before he tried to push whoever was on him off. Sadly, it seemed Kaito was stronger than he looked, and held on tighter as Shinichi's struggles increased. He didn't like people touching him.

Not only did he enjoy his personal space, but when people came into contact with him they were able to see and hear the ghosts like he was. It was why he'd taken to wearing gloves everywhere – so long as they didn't touch his skin, they couldn't see them.

Trying to push the magician off, Shinichi froze when the other teen suddenly thanked him. Kaito finally pulled back and smiled. "You warned him eight years ago, and that probably saved his life." Taking a step back, the magician bowed and presented another rose – this time a red one – to Shinichi. Grinning widely, he said, "My name is Kuroba Kaito! One day I'm going to surpass my father and become the greatest magician in the world! We're going to be best friends Shin-chan!"

Shinichi felt his eyebrow twitch. "Don't call me that."

Kaito seemed deaf to Shinichi's words and pointed to his other two friends. "That's Hattori Heiji! His dad is a police chief in Osaka! He's kind of loud and has a temper, but he's overall a good guy. The other one over there is an annoying asshole, so you can ignore him."

Said 'annoying asshole' frowned, while the Osakan detective laughed. Kaito ignored them and continued on. "I guess we're all kind of taking after our dads in some way. What about you Shin-chan? Are you going to be a writer your dad?"

Shinichi sighed and shrugged. When he was little, he wanted nothing more than to be a detective like his idol Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, being a good detective typically meant lots of attention on you, and Shinichi didn't like being in the spotlight. It wasn't until just before the start of junior high that he started to back off from wanting to be a detective.

He shook his head to clear his mind from those thoughts. He didn't need or _want_ to remember what had happened. Some things were better left buried in the past and forgotten about.

"You alright?" Shinichi looked up and found the three had gotten closer while he'd been distracted, each looking a little worried.

"You aren't sick are you?" Saguru asked, reaching a hand out to feel his forehead.

Shinichi pulled back before the blond could touch him. "I don't like being touched," he muttered, turning his face towards the window and watching their reflections. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"We should get you home then!" It took Shinichi a few moments to register what the magician had said.

Slowly turned to face them, he narrowed his eyes at his grinning parents who had come up behind the three. "What do you mean _we_?"

Kaito grinned happily. "Shin-chan's parents invited us and our families to stay the night at your place since it's gotten so late!"

Shinichi glared at his mother who was putting her acting skills to use and crying fake tears of joy into her husband's shoulder. "Look dear, our little Shin-chan, who'd rather spend time with books than around people, has made not _one_ , but _three_ new friends in one night! It's a miracle!" She rushed over and hugged her son tightly, ignoring his struggling to make her let go. "I _knew_ it was a good idea to come tonight!"

Shinichi pushed his mother off and sighed. Now he'd _never_ get to finish his new book.

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 **So that's what I have so far. For those who didn't understand, Shinichi wears fake glasses so he doesn't actually see the ghosts fully. When someone touches his skin, they can see the ghosts as well, which is why he wears the gloves.**

 **Let me know what you thought and if you have any ideas, because I have no idea where this is going.**


	2. The Dinner

**Please don't expect updates daily or so soon. I normally don't update like this, but for some reason I'm on a roll with writing this. Once again, no beta for this story, so excuse any mistakes.**

 ** _ZeroXYami_ : First of all, I think you just set a record for the fastest review I've ever gotten. Also, I"m really glad you like this story! I'm not too sure I want to kill Toichi off in this story, but who knows. Don't worry, I'll _eventually_ get to why he doesn't want to be a detective anymore. It may not come for a while though, so be prepared to wait~ I wasn't planning on having Conan in this story, and I'm still debating on the BO. I'm having a hard enough time writing Heiji, Saguru, Kaito, and basically everyone besides Shinichi. Thanks for the review!**

 ** _Guest and guest (Guest):_ Here is more for you, and I haven't decided on any pairings yet. Not sure I'll make any at all. I think I said last chapter though that I'm not having Ran and Shinichi together. I'm keeping them as just friends.**

 ** _James Birdsong:_ I'm glad you found it amusing and amazing!**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed already! Enjoy the 2nd chapter~**

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"I still don't see why you would invite strangers to stay the night," Shinichi grumbled into his book as his father started the car. He was glad his mother wasn't driving, or he'd not get a chance to read on the way back home.

"If you'd been listening when we introduced you earlier," his mother huffed, "You'd realize they're not strangers. They're old friends of ours. And besides, it'll do you some good to spend time with actual humans besides us or Ran-chan."

"It doesn't matter what you do in the future," his father cut in, "You need to know how to interact with people."

"I know how to interact with people," Shinichi stated, "I just choose not to." He tuned out his mother bemoaning the fact her only son was cold and attempted to get as far as he could in his book before he once more subjected to the smiling bundle of energy who refused to leave him alone known as Kuroba Kaito.

Shinichi couldn't really find much fault with the other two, other than the fact they hadn't stopped staring at him like he was one of their beloved mysteries to solve since they'd identified the murderer earlier.

"Shin-chan," Shinichi looked up and found both his parents looking back at him. His mother shook her head with a sigh. "You always get too absorbed when you read. Come on, we're stopping for dinner before we get home."

He didn't bother asking why they hadn't just eaten while at the party. His parents never made sense. Unbuckling, he got out of the car and silently followed his parents into the family restaurant, determined to finish the last five chapters before they got home. He looked away from his book long enough to slide into his seat.

As the other ten people situated themselves around the table – Kaito happily took the seat next to him while Heiji and Saguru sat across – Shinichi asked the waitress for a cup of coffee to drink before going right back to his reading. Rude or not, he'd been trying and failing to finish this book the entire day and he was _determined_ to finish before he went to bed.

Sensing Kaito turning to him, he held up a hand in front of the magicians face without looking away from the text. "If you _insist_ on talking to me please, _please_ just wait until I'm finished reading." The blue eyed teen was happily surprised when his request was headed and the magician turned to the other two teens instead. Relaxing slightly, Shinichi focused all his attention back to the last few chapters of the book.

He already knew what was probably going to happen, but the teenager hated leaving books unfinished. Sure enough, the novel ended just as Shinichi had predicted, giving him a small amount of satisfaction. It had been a well written book. Maybe not as good as his beloved Sherlock Holmes, but still a decent read.

"Finished reading?"

Picking up his cup of coffee that he hadn't realized had been delivered, Shinichi glanced up at Kaito while he took a sip. "Yes. Thank you for letting me finish."

Saguru gestured towards the book. "What was it you were reading?"

" _Two Little Girls In Blue_ ," Shinichi held up the novel.

"Didn't take you for a romance fan," Heiji commented.

"It's a mystery, actually. Written by Marry Higgins Clark, a well-known American mystery author. Although depending on the author, there are some good romance novels out there." While he preferred the mystery novels, Shinichi wasn't too picky about the books he read. He'd found that while some genres weren't his first pick, that didn't mean they weren't good books.

"Mystery fan huh? Who's your favorite?"

Kaito groaned next to him. Obviously this was a frequent topic. "I prefer Sherlock Holmes," Saguru's face brightened considerably while Kaito let his head fall onto the table with a groan and Heiji shook his head.

"Just what we need," the Osakan muttered, "Another Holmes freak."

"It's a classic," Shinichi stated, not in the least fazed by the dark skinned teens muttering. "Though I understand it's not everybody's first choice. Who would you choose Hattori-san?"

"Me? I like Ellery Queen myself."

"Ah, if it's Queen, I enjoyed _The Door Between_." He tilted his head slightly and fixed his glasses. "You seem surprised by that."

Heiji rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I just figured all the people who like Holmes swear by him that it's the only real mystery book worth reading."

"I love Sherlock Holmes, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading other mystery novels."

Before either Saguru or Heiji could continue, Kaito suddenly cut in. "No more talk about mystery books! No more talk about cases either! That's _all_ you two _ever_ talk about!"

Raising an eyebrow, Shinichi sipped his coffee before nodding. "Very well, Kuroba-kun."

"You can just call me Kaito!"

"Kuroba-kun," He ignored the huff from the teen, "If you're planning on becoming a magician like your father I assume you've thought about when you'll begin performing?"

The magician brightened up while the other two teens sighed and groaned respectively. "I've already assisted in some of Oyaji's shows, but he and Kaa-san think I should wait until after high school to start holding my own. I do some tricks in a park near our house sometimes to practice, and it's like a free show for those around."

"And college?"

For a moment, Kaito looked surprised before he grinned. "I'll probably still go. It'd be good to have a backup plan if something happens. Besides, you'd be surprised how much Chemistry and Physics goes into magic."

"What about you Kudo-kun?" Saguru seemed very willing to change the subject.

Heiji instantly jumped in. "Yeah, any plans for what you're gonna do after high school?"

Shinichi looked from one to the next. Seems while Kaito was fed up with mystery talk, the other two were fed up with magic talk. "Not really. Kuroba-kun mentioned no more case talk?" He didn't like talking about himself. Too many things he didn't want to come to light.

Heiji looked smug. "Yeah, I've been helping out with cases back in Osaka. Pretty well known too."

"I've also assisted in a few cases back in London," Saguru stated, sipping his tea, "Though here in Japan I've mainly been helping with the Kaitou KID cases." His eyes flicked over to Kaito who threw his hands up in frustration.

"For the _last time_ – I am not KID! Damnit Hakuba, I've stood right next to you – _handcuffed to you_ – for the duration of _multiple_ KID heists! Aoko was even with us at that party during the last heist! You know, the one _all the way across Japan_!"

"Your obsession with making Kuroba out to be KID is a little extreme," Heiji commented.

The blond frowned. "Even if _he_ isn't KID, I think-"

" _Oyaji_ isn't KID either! What do you have against us anyway? Why are you _so sure_ that one of us is KID?"

Shinichi let their arguing over whether the Kuroba's were or were not Kaitou KID fade into the background as he turned his gaze towards the window. Once they got home he was going straight to the library to start on the rest of his new books his mother had forbidden him from bringing that night.

He was dragged back to the present when a finger tapped his ear. Frowning, he turned and swatted the hand away. He'd specifically said he didn't like being touched. "What?" Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he looked up at the polite cough and saw the waitress from earlier holding her pen over her small notepad.

"What can I get for you?"

Shinichi pointed towards his father. "Whatever he's having." He hadn't bothered to look at the menu, but figured whatever the elder Kudo male was eating would be fine. He wasn't very hungry anyway.

"You really shouldn't space out like that," Saguru commented. "She asked you that question three times before Kuroba got your attention." The blue eyed teen simply shrugged. He didn't go out very often, and when he did Ran or his parents were with him. They usually answered for him.

"Ne, Shin-chan?" Shinichi leaned away as Kaito tried to touch his ear again. The magician's hand paused midair and instead came up to tap his own ear. "What are those things?"

"What things?" Reaching up, Shinichi felt his ears and touched the modified earplugs he had in. "Ah, nothing." He almost forgot he had them in. The only time he took them out was when he was showering.

"Do you have bad hearing?" He wondered if the Osakan knew was tact was. "Don't look like any hearing aids I've ever seen."

"Not hearing aids."

"I'd say they were earplugs," the blond mused, "But you seem to be hearing us just fine."

He wondered if he could get away with saying he could read lips. Probably not, since he'd responded to his parents at the party earlier without having looked at them while they were talking. Sighing softly to himself, Shinichi turned back towards the window and muttered, "I have sensitive hearing. They keep the noise down."

What he didn't say was that the _noise_ it kept out was that of the ghosts. Originally he'd found that regular headphones and earplugs worked fine, but headphones weren't allowed in school and earplugs just made everything more complicated. Instead, he'd asked professor Agasa to see about making earplugs that still let him hear like normal. When the man had questioned the odd request, Shinichi played it off that his hearing was extra sensitive. The end result of multiple failures were the modified earplugs he was wearing now.

They kept all noise at a constant level, so nothing was ever too loud. Seeing as how the professor always liked updating his things, Shinichi could even set them to filter out background noise or turn them to work like regular earplugs should he want or need it.

"Earplugs are probably a good idea if you're going to be around Kuroba and Hattori." Said magician stuck his tongue out at the blond while the Osakan frowned.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"That you're loud."

Before the argument could continue or escalate, there was a puff of smoke that obscured the table. Shinichi coughed and attempted to wave it away. When it did disperse, he blinked at the sight of the two teens across from him. It seems in the short amount of time the smoke had been there, both Saguru's and Heiji's hair had been turned pure white and wrinkles had been drawn onto their faces in what Shinichi could only guess was marker.

"You two will still be fighting like this when you're old men," Kaito announced, rather happily. Shinichi shook his head and brought out a spare handkerchief to clean his glasses with from the smoke. Taking them off, he kept his gaze lowered as he wiped them clean. Flicking his gaze up automatically as someone brushed past their table, he watched as the young man slowly made his way to the bathroom. The shadows that surrounded him were slowly turning darker as he went. Shinichi had only seen this once before, and felt his gut twist.

Putting his fake glasses back on, he mumbled an excuse and made his way to the bathroom after the man. Pushing the door open, he watched the last stall door close and listened to the lock click shut. Quickly making his way to the stall next to it, he hesitated slightly. If he wasn't careful he could make things worse.

Clearing his throat slightly, he said, "Don't do it." He didn't get a response, though he wasn't expecting one. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't know what happened, but this isn't the way to fix it." Taking a deep breath, Shinichi took off his glasses and stashed them in his pocket before standing on the edge of the toilet and looking over the top to the occupied stall. Hoping he wouldn't terrify the man into doing something stupid, he jumped up and over the wall dividing them, dropping down in front of the startled male.

"What are you-" Shinichi stared at the man in front of him and swallowed when he noticed the small figure floating above them. She was so young and small that the blue eyed teen had missed her at first. Slowly taking out his earplugs, he leaned back against the locked door in order to give the man some room.

"What's your name?"

Hesitant, the male whispered, "S-Sakamoto Hiromi."

Shinichi's gaze wandered up to the small girl who only just seemed to notice he could see her. **"Y-You can see me?"** The blue eyed teen nodded. Tears welled up in the small girls' eyes. **"I'm Sakamoto Y-Yui. Onii-san, H-Hiromi-nii-san is r-really sad. He-He hasn't smiled in a really long time a-and he ca-can't see me."** Shinichi hated seeing children as ghosts. **"H-He's been acting really f-funny and is-is scaring me."**

"Sakamoto-san, what happened?" His question was directed to both man and child. Hiromi clenched his fists together and stayed silent, but the little girl was more than willing to talk.

 **"Hiromi-nii-san took me to Tropical Land for my birthday. I-It was really fun, and h-he let me eat lots of yummy food! M-My tummy started t-to hurt really r-really bad, s-so we went to t-the toilet. I-I'm a big girl, s-so I went on my own. W-When I came o-out Hiromi-nii-san w-was gone. I-I looked all o-over for him, b-but g-got lost. I-It got r-really dark, a-and I d-didn't know w-where I w-was. I-I started c-crying a-and there w-was a p-pain in m-my head. T-Then w-when I found H-Hiromi-n-nii-san he-he co-couldn't s-see me o-or hear me."**

The little girl started crying even harder, making Shinichi's heart clench. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned back to Hiromi. "Sakamoto-san."

Hiromi started shaking, and Shinichi could see the tears falling onto his clenched fists. "It's my fault," he whispered. "It's all my fault. I was gone one second, _one second_ , to call our parents. I shouldn't have left her. I shouldn't have-" He cut off as his tears came faster. "I'm sorry Yui. I'm sorry."

"Sakamoto-san, do you really think you'll make Yui-chan happy by blaming yourself?"

Hiromi finally looked up at him, tears pouring from his eyes. "SHE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME!" He slumped over and covered his face with his hands. "I was the one who took her there. I was the one who gave her so much junk food her stomach started to hurt. I was the one who left her. I was the reason she's dead. It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"That's not true Sakamoto-san." Hiromi looked up and started to open his mouth, but couldn't get the words out when he locked gazes with Shinichi. "Your little sister loved you very much. She would never blame you for what happened." He pulled off one glove and put a hand on Hiromi's shoulder, his thumb touching the young mans' neck.

Hiromi's eyes widened as Yui's ghost shimmered into existence behind Shinichi. She had tears in her eyes, and a big smile on her face. **"I love you Hiromi-nii-san. Onii-san is right, it wasn't your fault. I should have waited for you."**

"Y-Yui…"

 **"Hiromi-nii-san, thank you for taking me to Tropical Land. It was a lot of fun!"**

"Yui…Yui, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

 **"Silly Hiromi-nii-san, I never blamed you."**

Shinichi let go of Hiromi's shoulder and pulled his glove back on. "Yui! Yui wait! Don't leave me!"

The blue eyed teen tapped the area over his heart. "She's always with you Sakamoto-san." He watched the dark shadows surrounding the young man start to lighten once more. "All she wants now is for her beloved big brother to be happy." Unlocking the stall, he nodded to the man and small ghost before slipping his glasses back on.

Just before he put his earplugs back in he heard Yui say, **"Thank you Onii-san."**

Making his way back out to the dining area, he saw the food had arrived and the others were digging in already. Sitting down, he pushed his plate away and folded his arms on top of the table, burying his face in them. He ignored everyone else's questions and Kaito's poking, not moving from his position.

He really hated dealing with children's ghosts.

Shinichi stayed like that until his mother shook his shoulder and told him they were leaving. The ride to the house was silent, and once he got inside he made his way to his bedroom and curled up under the covers. Yui's ghost reminded him of why he'd stopped wanting to become a detective. The first case he'd ever helped with wound up being the last he wanted to deal with.

Shinichi wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but by the time he woke up it was early afternoon and the rest of their guests had already left for their own homes. Trudging into the bathroom, he took a nice long, hot, shower before making his way downstairs.

His mother was in the kitchen, probably making lunch, and smiled softly at him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sitting down at the table, Shinichi lightly traced patterns in the wood. "He was going to kill himself," He answered quietly. "He was with his little sister at Tropical Land for her birthday when they got separated and she died."

He felt his father's hand on his head and briefly wondered when he'd gotten there. "You stopped a suicide," He said in just as quiet a voice, "That's something to be happy about."

"I couldn't tell him."

"Couldn't tell him what sweetheart?" His mother laid a plate of food in front of him, setting two more out for herself and his father.

"His sister was probably murdered. Otherwise she would have left after talking to him. I couldn't tell him."

"If he didn't already know, it wouldn't have done much good to tell him." His father was right, but Shinichi still felt the man had a right to know.

He ate in silence, pushing the food around more than actually eating it, and let the sound of his parents' conversation wash over him. He never understood what was wrong with him. Why was he cursed like this? He never asked for it. He never wanted it. So why? Why did he have to deal with it? Why him?

"Shin-chan, you've hardly eaten anything. Even if you're not hungry, you didn't eat dinner last night and slept through breakfast." Shinichi glanced up at his mother and took a few small bites to make her happy.

Putting his chopsticks down, he thanked her for making lunch and cleaned up after himself before retreating to the library. Making his way to the stack of new books he'd left by the armchair the day before, he plucked the top one off and curled up comfortably. Hopefully the books would get his mind off everything.

* * *

 **Well, that took a slight turn for the depressing, but hey! We're starting to learn more! Hope you all liked it, and let me know what you thought! I still have no idea where this story is going, but at least I'm writing again.**


	3. The Interlude

**So this chapter is really short, but I just wanted to give a bit of an insight into the others and what they thought. After this it'll be back to Shinichi's POV. So this of this as an interlude of sorts.**

 **And just as a heads up to those who think I make posting this soon a habit, I just post the chapters the second I'm finished writing them. No reviewing them, no beta, just write and post. So while some come sooner, some you'll have to wait a while for. Who knows with this story. If I keep going on a role, maybe you _will_ get a new chapter daily. We'll see.**

* * *

Kaito sighed as he stared at the images of his two friends over Skype. He was worried about Shinichi. After he'd come back from the bathroom he hadn't said a word to any of them. His parents had played it off as him being tired, but he'd just seemed so _sad_.

"Still thinking about it?"

Kaito blinked at the image of Saguru and nodded. "I know Kudo-san told us to leave him be, but it just doesn't feel right. I mean, he seemed really upset."

"Kuroba," Heiji said with a sigh, "The dude's been pushing us away since we met him. Which, might I add, was _last night_. We haven't known him that long. Maybe that's normal for him."

"What a depressing thought," Saguru commented dryly. "For someone's state of _normal_ to be sad all the time."

"All I'm saying is if he don't wanna talk to us, he ain't gonna talk to us. 'Sides, there's something off 'bout him, an I don't just mean with the whole depressed stuff either."

"That's rather rude Hattori, to say about someone you barely know."

"Look, I'm just sayin' that when he's 'round I get the feeling we ain't the only ones there."

"A detective who believes in ghosts?" Kaito couldn't help but laugh. "And here I thought you detectives were all about _logic_ and didn't _believe_ in the supernatural."

Heiji's cheeks flushed red, but Saguru cut in before he could say anything. "As painful as it is, I do see Hattori's point." Saguru's scowl deepened while Heiji seemed pleased. "I'm not sure I believe Kudo-kun when he said it was a _feeling_ someone had been killed, but the fact is that he knew someone was dead without being anywhere near the body."

Kaito frowned in thought. "As grateful as I am that he warned Oyaji to be careful, it _is_ weird that he knew something was going to happen. I asked Oyaji about it and he admitted that it was probably Shinichi's warning back then that saved him."

"'Bout that," Heiji mused, "What made 'im take a kids warning seriously? I'd a just laughed."

"He wouldn't tell me what exactly, just that it was what Shinichi had told him. He refuses to tell me what that was though."

"On a related subject," Saguru reached over and pulled something closer to him, "Kuroba, do you remember when you asked Kudo-kun about whether or not he was going to become a writer like his father?" Kaito and Heiji both nodded. "Apparently, he's already published a few books under a pseudonym." The blond held up a book entitled _'Till the End'_ by author Fujimine Shin. "Apparently Fujimine is his mothers' maiden name."

"I've heard of that book," The magician remembered Aoko shoving it into his hands and telling him to read it. "Aoko cried for a week straight after reading it. She tried to get me to read it, but I told her I wasn't going to read something so depressing it made her cry for a week."

"Kazuha's read it too. Came over bawlin' her eyes out. Always thought it was some sappy romance."

Saguru set the book down and shook his head. "It's not a romance. I don't…I'm not sure what genre to put it in really. I looked it up and apparently Kudo-kun's written a few more as well. His books are relatively popular, and gaining more fans."

Kaito hummed and moved over to his bookshelf. He was pretty sure he still had the book around somewhere. Aoko had told him not to give it back until he'd read the entire thing. Skimming the titles, he finally found it jammed between an old magic book and his junior high yearbook. Waving it towards the computer he set it on his desk. "I guess I should read it so I can finally give it back to Aoko."

"I'll see if Kazuha'll let me borrow hers."

"So I guess this means Shinichi _is_ going to be a writer like his dad." The magician frowned as he recalled the conversation. Shinichi hadn't seemed very interested in the idea. "How come he didn't just say so?"

"If he's using a pseudonym maybe be didn't want us knowing he'd written these?"

"Sill 'could a said he was plannin' on bein' a writer like his dad."

"Shinichi didn't really seem interested in that though. Maybe he tried it and didn't like it?"

"If he wasn't interested in it, he would have stopped. According to the news, however, he has another book scheduled to be released later this year."

The three were quiet for a while until Heiji groaned. "Damnit. Kudo just ain't makin' any sense. Writin' but not interested in it, fake glasses, _earplugs_ , an' gloves when it ain't necessary to wear 'em."

"In his defense," Saguru said, "He _did_ say he didn't like being touched. And that he had sensitive hearing."

"I don't know 'bout you, but I ain't ever heard a someone havin' _that_ sensitive a hearing they needed _earplugs_. An it still doesn't explain the whole _feeling_ thing either."

"None of that matters!" Kaito crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I don't care if he wears gloves all the time, or fake glasses, or earplugs, or any of it. I just want to know why he looked so upset last night." He looked at his two friends. "He didn't smile once, even when I turned your hair white and gave you wrinkles!" The two on screen glared at him but Kaito ignored it. "Even the adults found it funny! Shinichi didn't even seem to react. Not the barest twitch of his lips. _Nothing_."

"Kuroba," Saguru said blandly, "Are you sure you aren't just upset he didn't react to your prank?"

The magician looked down at his desk. "When he came back from the bathroom he seemed even more upset than he was before. The look on his face before he pretended nobody else existed was so _sad_."

"What can we do Kuroba? We barely know him. He's probably not going to tell us what happened."

Kaito grinned and the two on screen groaned. "No, but we _can_ try and get him to smile."

"Do we got a choice?" Heiji sighed as the magician happily shook his head.

"Besides," Kaito's smile turned a little sad, "He doesn't seem like he has very many friends. Yukiko-san asked us to be friends with him. I don't think she'd do that unless she was worried about him."

"We have school tomorrow," Saguru said, probably trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere that that settled around them, "But we'll see about meeting up with him this weekend."

"Let me know how it goes," Heiji said. "Bit of a trip from Osaka. Anyway, Kaa-san's callin' 'bout dinner. See ya." The Osakan's photo disappeared as he logged off.

Saguru sighed. "I must go as well. We'll talk more tomorrow."

Kaito closed his laptop as his two friends left and gazed down at the book on his desk. His parents were out at dinner with some of their friends, so he was on his own tonight. Picking it up, he made himself comfortable on his bed and opened it.

Kaito didn't realize he was crying until he heard his mother ask what was wrong. Holding the book with trembling fingers, he looked up. "K-Kaa-san," Not caring about how it looked or the fact his Poker Face was in shambles, he quickly wrapped his arms around his mother and cried.

"Kaito?" His bed dipped as his father sat next to him and put a hand on his head. "What's wrong?"

He could feel his mothers' laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. "It seems he read _'Till the End'_. I didn't think you were interested in those kind of books."

Sniffing and pulling back slightly, he rubbed his eyes. "H-Hakuba said S-Shinichi wrote them. I-I wanted to learn m-more about him."

His mother laughed again, and he could hear the amusement in his fathers' voice. "He really didn't pick a very good pseudonym if everyone is figuring it out."

"I don't think Shinichi-kun really cared when he picked it. He just needed something besides Kudo, or Yukiko would have declared it an unfair advantage since Yusaku already has a fanbase."

Kaito sniffed and blew his nose. "What are you talking about?"

His father smiled and ruffled his hair lightly. "According to Yusaku, the only reason Shinichi-kun wrote and published a book was because of a bet with his mother to get out of having a party."

"I don't understand."

His mother giggled. "Yukiko is determined to throw Shinichi-kun a birthday party, but he absolutely refuses. Rather than fight about it, Yukiko bets Shinichi-kun that he can't do something within a year, and if he wins, he doesn't have to have a birthday party, but if he loses she gets to go all out and throw him a party. They've had this going for close to eleven years now."

Kaito shook his head. It sounded like a weird way to settle things. His mother kissed his forehead as she stood up. "You still have school tomorrow, so try and get some sleep." The teenager nodded and watched as his father placed the book on his desk as he slid under the covers.

"Night Kaa-san. Night Oyaji."

"Goodnight Kaito."

* * *

 **So yeah, this was mainly a chapter for me to explain a little more on the betting thing, as well as give a reason for Shinichi to have written some books. I actually have the scene where it's explained why Shinichi doesn't want to be a detective anymore all thought up, but I don't think it'll be actually written into the story for a while yet, since these three still don't even know there was a point he _wanted_ to be a detective. Anyway, thanks to all the reviewers - it's because of you all that I was even able to think about it!**

 **Let me know if you have any ideas for the interactions in the future! Also, Ran should be showing up in the next chapter. I'll probably have her meet at least Kaito and Hakuba. We'll see what else happens. Depending on how the story wants to go, it could be ending fairly soon or could drag out for quite a bit yet. We'll see.**


	4. The Shopping

**Here's the next chapter~**

* * *

Shinichi sighed as the last bell rang and slowly began packing up. The week had seemed to drag on longer than it usually did. "Shinichi." Glancing up, he found Ran standing next to his desk, Sonoko behind her. "Sonoko and I are going shopping before we head to the new restaurant for dinner. Do you want to come with us?"

"That's alright." Ran had been trying to get him to hang out all week after school, and while he appreciated the effort, her ideas of fun didn't appeal to him.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Sonoko cut in, "You're pretty up to date with the latest fashion, and Ran and I need a guys' perspective. After all, my KID-sama will be coming for me tonight!" He didn't care about fashion in the least, but his mother had the annoying tendency to go _on and on_ about what styles were in and what weren't.

"I thought he was after that necklace your uncle got."

Sonoko sniffed. "I'm sure once KID-sama sees me tonight, he'll forget all about that necklace." She grabbed his upper arm in a tight grip and hauled him out of his seat. "Which is why we need a guys' perspective on our new outfits, and you're the only one around here who actually has some sense when it comes to what looks good! I'm sure you don't have anything better to do anyways."

"Mou, Sonoko."

"I _do_ have revisions to make. The deadline is next month."

"Which means you still have a month to do them." Sonoko dragged him from the room as she talked, Ran following behind with a soft laugh.

"Ne, Shinichi, can I read it when you're done with the revisions?"

"Don't you always?"

Ran simply smiled and turned to her female friend. Shinichi tuned out their talk about clothes and Kaitou KID, pulling a book from his bag. He ignored the groan from the short haired female and her comment "The day you don't have a book with you is the day the world ends."

He only got a chapter in – having to keep at least some attention in front of him so he didn't run into anyone or anything – when the two females in front of him suddenly stopped. Looking up, he blinked at the sight of the two teenagers standing by the gates of their school. The blond had a hand on his head and seemed resigned while the other was happily producing flowers for all the girls that crossed his path.

The magician glanced their way and seemed to perk up, grabbing Saguru's hand and towing him over to the trio. "SHIN-CHAN!"

Shinichi sighed as Ran tried to disguise her laugh as a cough and Sonoko outright laughed. " _Shin-chan_?" There was a reason he'd never introduced the short haired female to his mother. He had no doubt he'd be hearing that particular nickname around school next week. He lowered his book slightly as the two came to a stop before him.

"What are you doing here?"

The grin on Kaito's face didn't bode well. "We were let out early today because there was an explosion in the science lab, and we decided to come visit you!" The magician held out both hands and made two roses appear, giving one to Ran and the other to Sonoko. "Kuroba Kaito, aspiring magician." When the two girls took them, he produced another and held it out to Shinichi. "And one for Shin-chan too."

Sonoko snickered and elbowed the blue eyed teen in the arm, "You didn't tell us you had a boyfriend _Shin-chan_."

Ran looked disappointed. "I thought we were friend Shinichi. You could have told me."

Shinichi wasn't sure how to react to the fact his two supposed friends automatically assumed he was gay. Kaito didn't help anything by wrapping an arm around his waist and sighing dramatically. "Shin-chan's just embarrassed."

Looking at Ran, he stated, "I wasn't sure how to tell you." The looks on the other fours' faces made Shinichi feel slightly better. Honestly, they were the ones who accused him of dating the magician. He widened his eyes towards his childhood friend slightly and let a small blush creep up on his cheeks. "The truth is; he's been harassing me for the past week after sexually assaulting me. That's why I didn't want to hang out with you." He'd have to thank his mother for forcing her acting lessons on him when he was younger.

Ran's aura suddenly went dark as she brought a fist up and glared at the now sputtering magician. "I see." Watching Kaito run from his friend was rather satisfying. Seeing the looks on Sonoko's and Saguru's faces, he shrugged.

"I don't like being touched." The short haired female shook her head in exasperation while Saguru seemed to be choking on air, caught between laughing and flinching when he saw Ran crack the side of the school building with her kick. Hopefully this would teach Kuroba to stop touching him and calling him 'Shin-chan'.

Finally finding his voice, the blond said, "You shouldn't make up things like that Kudo-kun."

Said teen raised an eyebrow. "I didn't. He forced himself on me just over an hour after we met, and after getting my cellphone number from my mother has been harassing me nonstop throughout the week asking where I was and what I was doing and who I was with."

Saguru made an odd noise in the back of his throat while Sonoko's eyes widened. "He was giving you a _hug_ -"

"That he forced on me."

"-and was just trying to make conversation-"

"About my private life."

"- _please_ don't make it sound like something it wasn't."

Shinichi tilted his head slightly. "I was stating facts. Obviously you were at fault for misunderstanding what I said. You shouldn't be thinking such things Hakuba-san. It could get you in trouble one day."

He wondered if the blonds face was turning red from anger or embarrassment. Probably a mix of both. He seemed to be struggling with what to say, while Sonoko was busy doubled over with laughter off to the side.

Seeing everyone's attention on other things, Shinichi took the opportunity to leave. Kaito and Saguru had proved to be good distractions for Ran and Sonoko. Now he wouldn't have to go shopping. He was almost to the school gates when Ran grabbed his arm. "Shinichi!" She glared at him as he sighed. "You're coming shopping with Sonoko and I, remember?" He turned and looked behind her, where Kaito was cowering behind Saguru. Ran glanced back and smiled sweetly. "Kuroba-kun promised to keep his distance."

The blue eyed male sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get out of going shopping. His childhood friend seemed to realize this and smiled happily before starting a conversation with Sonoko again, leaving the three males to trail behind.

Kaito and Saguru came up on either side of Shinichi, the magician maintaining a foot of distance between them. "That was mean of you Shin-chan. Your girlfriend is really scary!"

"I wasn't aware I had a girlfriend. If you were referring to Ran, she's dating someone else. Sonoko as well." He didn't bother looking up from his book as he answered.

"And their boyfriends don't mind them going shopping with you?"

"Ran's like my sister. Sonoko may flirt a lot, but she's dedicated to her partner." Shinichi was fairly certain over half the school thought he was gay, but he didn't care.

"Do you go with them on their shopping trips often?" Shinichi knew the blond was trying to make polite conversation, but he couldn't help the sigh that escaped.

Keeping his face completely neutral he stated as blandly as possible, "Yes, because shopping is my one true happiness in life. I simply cannot express how much I enjoy it." The blond winched slightly as Kaito laughed.

"I…see. I apologize if I offended you."

The blue eyed teen shook his head slightly and went back to his book. Saguru didn't seem like a bad person – he was only attempting to adhere to societies need for meaningless conversation that was deemed appropriate and polite. "I am forced to attend their shopping ventures since my mother – for whatever reason – seems it is appropriate I am up to date on what is considered stylish. This apparently makes me the best choice for a second, male, opinion."

"I'd have thought they'd want their boyfriend's opinion," Kaito commented as he finished laughing.

"Seeing as how neither has a boyfriend, it doesn't matter." Shinichi mentally sighed at the utterly confused look on the two's faces. Was it that hard to understand? "They're dating each other. Sonoko is Ran's girlfriend. Ran is Sonoko's girlfriend." Apparently it was, considering the looks they were sporting. Shinichi shook his head and raised an eyebrow at the magician. "I thought you'd be more open to the idea, seeing as how you claimed we were dating earlier."

This had Kaito flushing. "I – That was a _joke_ – I mean – Not that I'd _mind_ – Not like _that_ – I don't –" He finally took a deep breath and shook his head before carefully choosing his words. "I'm not homophobic. It'd be pretty odd, considering I'm either gay or bi myself. I just…I've never actually known two girls who were dating each other before. It…surprised me."

The blue eyed teen nodded and turned to Saguru, raising an eyebrow. The blond flushed bright red and coughed. "I have nothing against same sex couples. Like Kuroba, I was simply startled as I've never personally met or known any."

Ran and Sonoko seemed to realize there was an interesting conversation going on behind them and turned back. "What are you boys talking about?"

"I told them you were dating and they're attempting to convince me they're not homophobic." He ignored the two sputtering out excuses as the girls frowned. "Kuroba-kun admits to being gay and apparently has a crush on me. Hakuba-kun seems unsure how to act as he's never encountered this situation before. I believe his unease is more awkwardness on his part than any disapproval."

Kaito and Saguru seemed ready to die of mortification then and there. Ran seemed a little uneasy – she'd always been uncomfortable with the judging stares that came when people learned she had a girlfriend – while Sonoko grinned at Kaito.

"Oh? The magician has a crush on our socially awkward little bookworm?"

Shinichi wondered if he should be offended. He wasn't socially awkward; he just chose not to interact with people. Kaito's face was bright red as he glared at the reading teen. "Will you _stop_ twisting my words around?!"

"We were talking about you stating you were my boyfriend earlier and you said, and I quote, _'That was a_ joke _– I mean – Not that I'd_ mind _'_. Please tell me how that was ' _twisting your words around_ '."

The magician opened and closed his mouth repeatedly while Sonoko laughed and Ran giggled. The karate champion shook her head. "Shinichi has a way of wording things that, while still accurate, sound like something completely different. You may want to be careful what you say."

"So we've noticed," Saguru grumbled under his breath and he attempted to get his blush under control. He turned to the two women and bowed slightly. "I apologize if I seemed rude. I meant no harm or disrespect." Ran seemed to relax at his sincerity.

To Shinichi's relief, the two males seemed to agree talking with the girls was less of a hazard than talking to him. This left him free to continue reading without interruption. Maybe if he kept this up, they'd stop bothering him completely. Although, Shinichi had to admit that seeing their sputtering faces was amusing. Ran and Sonoko, as well as the rest of the school, had all learned by now to either watch what they said or not bother him. This meant less people interrupting his reading, and less of a chance to watch the chaos unfold and embarrassment rise.

Nobody could say Shinichi didn't have a sense of humor. His was just slightly more twisted than the general publics. It was, in his opinion, a good way to get people to leave him alone. His father had taught him that how you worded things was very important. His mother had taught him that how you _said_ those words – and how you acted and appeared when you said them – could change something innocent into something suggestive.

Really, it was their fault he had such a twisted sense of humor.

A part of him debated simply slipping away in the crowd and heading home, but he decided against it. Ran would get angry and might practice some of her karate moves on him. Not to mention Sonoko would make his life a living hell for a while. No, it was better for him if he just sucked it up and went with it.

As they made their way into what Shinichi was sure would be the first of many stores, he held his book closed with one hand, index finger marking his page. The last time he'd tried reading while walking in a store he'd followed Ran into the changing room. It was a testament to both their relationship and obliviousness that neither had noticed until she'd had her shirt off. Thinking back, Shinichi figured complementing her bra with a straight face and going back to reading may have been why she and Sonoko were so willing to believe he was gay.

It was telling that she didn't even try to kick him out, and instead had happily thanked him before going on about how it was a different style than she'd normally worn before and had been worried about it not suiting her while continuing to try on the clothes she'd picked out. It wasn't until Sonoko had realized he was in the room with Ran that he'd been dragged out and scolded. Ran had simply laughed it off and said she didn't realize because Shinichi was like her brother.

When his parents found out, his father had just sighed and warned him to pay more attention while his mother nearly died laughing. When she finished, she simply said how happy she was all her fashion lessons were paying off.

Shinichi hadn't realized it was weird for him to know about women's underwear until Sonoko accused him of being a pervert. His mother had simply smiled and played innocent when he brought it up.

"I'm surprised you stopped reading," Kaito commented offhandedly.

Sonoko giggled. "He isn't allowed to read in stores unless he's sitting and waiting for us to change."

"How come?"

Shinichi shrugged lightly. "Last time I did I accidently followed Ran into the changing room." Saguru flushed red while Kaito laughed.

Sonoko huffed and rolled her eyes. "Neither of them even _noticed_ until Ran was halfway naked! And what do they do? _Nothing_! Ran acted like nothing was wrong and just kept changing! _Shin-chan_ just complemented her choice in _underwear_ before going back to his book like a beautiful woman wasn't practically naked right in front of him!"

Shinichi shrugged at the gaping looks on the other two males faces. "I didn't realize you wanted something to happen so badly. And I complemented her bra because it looked good on her. I thought women liked getting complements on their clothing."

Ran sighed, a small smile on her face. "It was like changing in front of my brother. Shinichi and I used to take baths together when we were little, so I didn't see a problem with it."

Sonoko sighed and threw her hands in the air before walking over to the clothing racks. Ran chuckled and joined her while the other two males were still staring at Shinichi as though he had two heads.

"You didn't even get a _little_ bit excited over seeing her changing?" Kaito finally asked.

"I didn't take you for a fan of incest Kuroba-kun." The magician groaned, his cheeks flushing once more.

"That's not what I _meant_!" He seemed to consider something before grinning and winking at Shinichi. "Or maybe you'd be more interested if it were a _male_ you caught changing?"

The blue eyed teen looked to Saguru. "Does he often contemplate stripping out in public? Or should I be worried about another attempt at sexual assault?"

Shinichi ignored the two who were flushing and stammering out excuses to those who'd been close enough to hear and made his way over to some of the chairs placed outside of the changing rooms. He paused in continuing his reading when Ran tapped him on the shoulder.

"Maybe you should take it a little easier on them Shinichi. They seem like nice people, and only want to be your friend."

The male teen shrugged. "They'll learn to cope if they keep bothering me." Ran frowned but shook her head and made her way into the changing room, two different outfits draped over her arm.

Shinichi opened his book and continued reading.

* * *

 **Shinichi still has a sense of humor, but over time it's warped into something that's used to push others away. I also enjoy having it fluster Kaito. I could have kept going with the shopping, but then I'd have to deal with the fashion and describing clothing and I'm in no way fashionable or knowledgeable about what's fashionable. I wear jeans and t-shirts with a hoodie if it's cold. That's it. Sweats and a tank top if I'm lazy.**

 **Anyway, I think the next chapter will either be more interactions between Kaito, Hakuba, Heiji, and Shinichi or I'll do a skip and have them talk with Ran about Shinichi. Or his parents. I haven't decided yet.**

 **Also, for those who are interested, there was a small - let's call it an 'easter egg' - in chapter 2. Remember Yui? Did her death seem familiar somehow? Tropical Land, getting lost (separated from who she came with), pain. I modeled her death after Shinichi's first run in with the BO. I figured this way I could write them in if I wanted to make them part of the story.**

 **And as for those who pointed out that Kaito knew about the betting thing - I was trying to make him come across confused as to _why_ they bet over birthday parties. Guess I didn't exactly make that clear though.**

 **Let me know what you thought!**


	5. The Case

**So, I'm not the best at describing episodes, or events in episodes, but I gave it a shot. So, World3nding, as you requested, here's a modified version of the two part episode where Heiji was introduced.**

* * *

Shinichi didn't understand why he was there. Kaito had dragged him, Saguru, and Heiji over to Ran's to wait for her before they were all going to Tropical Land. Before they could go, however, a woman had shown up and asked for Mouri Kogoro's help in a case. Being who they were, Saguru and Heiji had butted in and decided they would go to see who the better detective was – completely ignoring Ran's and Kaito's assistance that they leave it and go have fun, and Kogoro's yelling at them to not interfere.

And now here they all were, standing outside as one Tsujimura Kimie unlocked the front door to her house. Ran had one hand gripping his arm, keeping him from leaving. She'd gone to Kogoro to ask for him to investigate his son's girlfriend.

Shinichi kept his book firmly in front of his face and ignored everyone and everything around him. He didn't want to be there. He trailed slowly behind the others, and kept near the door as they entered the study. Ran and Kaito stood next to him, all wanting to keep out of the way. He only looked up when there was a thud, eyes narrowing as the body of Tsujimura Isao hit the ground. He felt his stomach clench as he watched a small, white, transparent sphere rise from his body.

This wasn't the first time he'd watched someone die, and it always made him feel cold. He waited as the others rushed around, calling for the police and checking the crime scene. When the sphere didn't vanish, Shinichi turned back to his book as the cold washed over him. He'd been killed – either with a slow acting poison or drug that delayed his death, or by the wife, Kimie.

Shinichi was willing to bet it was the wife.

He did his best to stay out of the way, half listening as Heiji and Saguru spit out their findings, trying to solve the case faster than the other. Moving away from the door and towards one of the corners in an effort to avoid all the people going in and out of the room, Shinichi glanced at some of the old photos on the bookshelf. Blinking, he sighed lightly and tried to continue reading. Hopefully with so many people trying to solve how Isao had died, they could leave sooner.

And of course, right as he has that thought, inspector Megure finds the only other key to the study – which had _of course_ been locked on their arrival – folded inside the small, inner pocket of the victims' pants, making this a locked room murder.

Kaito smiled faintly at him, looking uneasy do to the fact they were now dealing with murder. "Don't worry Shin-chan, Ran-chan. I'm sure between Hakuba and Hattori this case will be solved soon. We can still make it to Tropical Land for a few hours." Shinichi shrugged one shoulder. Honestly, he didn't care if they made it to the amusement part or not. He'd much rather just go home.

"Inspector Megure," One of the forensic members said, "We found something strange with the key the victim had."

"What?"

"The key holder splits open, and inside," He opened the key holder and Heiji and Saguru both leaned in closer for look. Shinichi didn't care what was inside. Hopefully with this they'd close the case. Seeing the two argue, he sighed. Or maybe they'd let their need for stupid competition get in the way. It was a simple trick, and shouldn't take too long to figure out, but he supposed he may have an unfair advantage in already knowing the exact time the victim died, and as such who killed him. It wasn't hard to figure out how they'd done it when he already knew that and had all the other clues.

He shook his head slightly. They'd figure it out eventually. He watched as both Saguru and Heiji knelt by the door and glared at each other before running out of the room. It didn't take them long to return, though Saguru's glare seemed to have risen in irritation while Heiji looked triumphant. "I know who the murderer is, and how they did it!" The tanned detective announced.

Shinichi looked up and bit back another sigh. Obviously this so called competition had gotten in the way of their better judgement. With the time they were gone, he'd be willing to bet that neither had looked past the first room they'd gone to.

"Inspector Megure," Saguru said, gesturing towards the desk, "If you'd be willing to play the part of the victim for us?"

The man nodded and started to sit at the desk. "No, no, we need ya ta lie on da floor first." Megure frowned but did as asked.

Saguru began explaining while Heiji got the trick set up. "First, the victim was poisoned. Then, the murderer took out the string Hattori and I found, and stuck the end that didn't have the needle to the inside of the key holder with a piece of tape. They then threaded the needle through the victims' pocket, placed him in his chair and propped him up in the position we witnessed him in as we entered the room. After which, the murderer simply grabbed both ends of the thread, and walked out the door. After shutting the door and locking it, the culprit let go of the end of the string that held the key and gently pulled the end that still had the needle attached."

He paused as Heiji did that, and everyone watched as the key was dragged under the door, across the ground, up the desk, and eventually into the victims' pocket.

Saguru crossed his arms and continued. "After the key gets into the pocket, the culprit simply tugged the rest of the line free and reeled it up the rest of the way before disposing of it in another room." One of the officers unlocked the door from inside and let Heiji back in.

"And who's the murderer?" Megure demanded.

Heiji raised his hands in an attempt to calm the inspector. "Just wait. Dis trick took about five or six minutes. The time of death is between three thirty and four. Tsujimura-san came in with us at four, so she's not a suspect."

"The butler," Saguru cut in, "also is not a suspect as he was talking with the neighbors during the time of death."

Heiji glared and cleared his throat loudly before resuming his explanation. "Da son and his girlfriend are cleared 'cause they were only upstairs for one da two minutes. Not enough time for da trick. Dat leaves us with one person."

Both Saguru and Heiji turned towards the father of the victim. "You're the murderer!"

Shinichi wondered if he should cut in. He didn't want to get involved, but at the same time he couldn't let an innocent man go to jail either. He blinked in slight surprise when the elder male fully admitted to killing his son. The two teen detectives looked proud of themselves as they made their way over to the small group in the corner, leaving the police to arrest the old man.

"Congratulations," Shinichi said softly, staring at his book without reading it, "You sent an innocent man to prison."

Four pairs of eyes regarded him in surprise, two narrowing in anger. "What do mean?" Saguru demanded. "We have the evidence, and he admitted to it."

Shinichi glanced up at the two over his glasses. "Did either of you bother to check anywhere else besides that one room? Suppose he did kill his son – if he had thirty minutes to do so, why would he wait to hide the evidence in a room we knew he was going to wait in? He could have hidden it in any other room, or even tossed it from some other rooms' window before we arrived."

The two frowned and glanced at each other. "He admitted to the murder," Saguru said, even as he started making his way out of the room with Heiji. Even if they were confident they had the right man, they needed to prove they were right and check the other rooms. The two came back after a minute, each clutching another bundle of string with a needle attached and looking upset.

"Inspector Megure," Saguru called out, "We…we may have been too hasty in declaring the culprit." Shinichi could almost feel the pain in the blond's voice at the admission. Neither he nor Heiji seemed at all pleased that they had made such a mistake.

The inspector frowned. "What do you mean Hakuba-kun?"

Heiji lifted the bundle of string he held. "We rechecked some of the other rooms, and found more string with needles attached in the trash."

"This was probably meant to frame Tsujimura Toshimitsu, who enjoys fishing." Saguru grimaced at the thought of being so careless.

"Then who is the culprit?" The inspector demanded.

"We…aren't sure yet." Heiji's face looked like he'd sucked on a lemon. The two made their way back to Shinichi. "Alright Kudo, ya know somethin'."

The blue eyed teen simply flipped to the next page in his book. "I know they didn't use the trick you described."

"They had to have used it!" Saguru said. "It was the only way to get the key back into the victims' pocket!"

"Who said they put the key back into the victims' pocket?" He raised an eyebrow as he turned the page. "Remember how the key was when inspector Megure pulled it out?" He watched the two think and turn to the inspector. Heiji reached into the man's pocket and pulled it inside out, showing the key wasn't in the same position it had been when they'd pulled it from the victim.

Heiji stomped back over to Shinichi and put his hand on the book, pushing it down and forcing the blue eyed teen to look at him. "If ya know who did it an how, _tell us_."

Shinichi shook his head slightly. "Tell me Hattori-kun, why was there Opera playing when we came in?"

"The culprit put it on to make it seem as though he'd been listening to it," Saguru said. "But it was obvious it wasn't the victim, because he liked classical music, rather than opera."

"So why put it on at all?" He let the two think for a few moments before posing another question. "And why were so many books piled up next to him?" He could tell the two were getting there, and another push should lead them to the correct conclusion. "Those key holders are interesting though, being able to open like that."

He could see the moment it clicked with the two. Both spinning, they made their way over to the inspector who was about ready to arrest Toshimitsu. Shinichi nodded and went back to his book. Kaito hummed next to him. "How come you didn't just tell them?"

Shinichi shrugged. "They're the detectives." He paused and thought about how he'd led them to the answer themselves rather than outright explaining everything and internally groaned. He'd just done the same thing his father tended to do on cases.

Ran shook her head. "How'd you know the trick wasn't real?"

The blue eyed teen looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Because," he whispered, more to himself than to the others, "the victim wasn't dead when we entered the room." Ran's hand came up and covered her mouth while Kaito's fists clenched. Neither enjoyed the thought of having unintentionally witnessed a murder, and having been used as an alibi for the murderer.

Shinichi went back to reading while making his way towards the door. The others could complain as much as they wanted, but he was going home. He resolutely ignored the eyes boring holes into his back as he left.

* * *

 **This actually gives me a good way to have the three talk to Ran about Shinichi, and have her bring up how he used to want to be a detective. Let me know what you thought!**

 **Also, I _could_ have had Shinichi solve it, but I couldn't resist him leading the other two towards the answer like his dad tends to do.**


	6. The Information

**So, here's a little more insight into Shinichi's past~**

* * *

Kaito frowned as he watched Shinichi leave. The blue eyed teen had admitted to knowing that the victim was alive when they entered. The question was, how did he know? Nobody else realized it. And the trick that Heiji and Saguru explained should have been sound, but Shinichi knew that it was a setup and there were other strings planted without having left the room. There was no way for him to know that unless he'd watched them being planted or gone to search himself.

Yet the entire time he'd stayed right next to him and Ran. Kaito wasn't a detective, but it didn't make sense to him.

"Ran-chan," He turned to the female as Heiji and Saguru finished up with the police. "Want to go get some cake after this?"

"Are you sure? What about Tropical Land?"

The magician waved it off. "Shin-chan already left, and it's starting to get late. We can go some other time." Ran sighed a little and smiled, nodding in agreement. Happy to have her agreement, Kaito grabbed her hand and led her towards the door, grabbing Heiji and Saguru on the way.

He ignored the sputtering coming from the two detectives as he dragged them away, knowing that if he let them keep going they wouldn't get out of there for another hour at _least_. He led the other three towards a small cake shop he'd seen on the way. Snagging a corner booth away from the other customers, he happily ordered a piece of triple chocolate cake.

Settling in, Kaito absentmindedly shuffled one of his decks of cards as he waited for the others to finish ordering. He made small talk with Ran until the orders arrived, giving the other two time to get over him dragging them away from their precious case.

When he was finished, he turned towards the lone female in their little group. "Ran-chan,"

The karate practitioner held up a hand. "It's about Shinichi, right?" Kaito nodded. The female shrugged apologetically. "He hasn't always been like that you know."

Saguru frowned. "What was he like then?"

The girl leaned back and hummed in thought. "Back when we were in elementary school, Shinichi was on the soccer team. He was the best player, and would be out practicing until he either couldn't see the ball anymore, or until he was so tired he couldn't move. When he wasn't focused on soccer, he would pour over his dads' case files or his Sherlock Holmes books." Here her smile turned fond as she remembered. She let out a small chuckle.

"Shinichi would go _on and on_ about Holmes, and used to tell me that if a book wasn't a mystery, it wasn't worth reading. He drove me _crazy_ because he wouldn't shut up about it. I remember he used to say he was going to be a famous detective, just like Holmes."

The three males were surprised. Ran had just described someone the complete opposite of the Shinichi they knew. Heiji was the one who asked. "What…what happened?"

Ran frowned. "I'm not really sure. It probably started with that rumor about him being cursed."

"Cursed?" Kaito asked.

The female nodded. "I don't remember how it started, but in the beginning it was like a joke. People would tease him about it, but not to be mean. And then some time in sixth grade, something happened. I don't know why, but suddenly it wasn't teasing anymore. His friends and teammates started avoiding him, and some of the bigger kids started ganging up on him. Then halfway to graduation, Shinichi got fed up and started yelling at them.

"A week later, the leader of the kids went missing, only to turn up dead a few days later. I heard from my dad that he was kidnapped and the ransom went south. All the other students blamed it on Shinichi's supposed curse. Rather than bullying, everyone avoided him completely. They didn't even _acknowledge_ him. Sonoko and I were the only ones who talked to him after that."

She leaned on her elbows and stared into her drink. "I don't know what happened after graduation, but I think he got caught up in something. He never showed up for class in middle school. I'm pretty sure his parents homeschooled him, and for the first year he was really sick and in and out of the hospital a lot. He finally came back to school for our third year, but he was a lot thinner, and would barely eat anything.

"I asked his parents about it, but they just said he got really sick on their vacation and not to worry about it." She paused and took a drink before switching topics. "When he came back, most of the students had forgotten about the rumor, but still left him alone. I tried talking him into joining the soccer team again, but he refused. It took both Sonoko and I almost the entire year to get him to talk to us again."

She smiled at the three, "That's why I'm really happy you three keep coming over. Shinichi seems happier than I've seen him in a long time."

"Dats _happy_?" Heiji muttered to himself.

"What about his glasses?" Saguru asked. "How long has he been wearing them?"

Ran shrugged. "For as long as I can remember. I used to think it was because his dad wore glasses, but when I mentioned it Shinichi said it was wrong and that the only reason he wore glasses is because he needs them."

Kaito was confused. "But…they're fake."

Ran huffed. "I know, but no matter how many times I ask, that's the answer he gives me."

"And the earplugs?" Saguru pressed.

Ran tapped a finger on her chin. "He used to wear headphones, but the teachers would scold him and make him take them off. He would get into so much trouble because he would ignore them and keep them on. His parents didn't help either, just saying that since he wasn't actually listening to anything it should be fine."

"What about the gloves?"

The female shrugged again. "He's always worn them. Even when it's really hot outside, he'll be in a long sleeved shirt and long pants with gloves on. Sonoko used to tease him about being a vampire."

Saguru frowned. "I'd thought they were part of what happened between elementary school and middle, however it seems that's not the case."

"So somethin' happened between elementary school an middle school," Heiji summarized, "but we don't know what."

"My best guess would be some sort of case," Saguru said, "Since I highly doubt the kidnapping gone wrong was what turned him away from wanting to be like Holmes."

"Whatever it was," Kaito mused as he went back to shuffling absentmindedly, "was bad enough to land him in the hospital for roughly a year, and keep him from school for another year afterwards."

"You have no idea what happened?" Saguru asked.

Ran shook her head. "Shinichi refuses to talk about it, and his parents avoid it or make vague mentions before changing the subject. I'm pretty sure my parents know what happened, because my dad keeps telling me to leave it alone and my mom just shakes her head and tells me not to worry about it. Even inspector Megure asked me to stop looking into it."

The three males frowned. Obviously it was something big, if all the adults were keeping it under wraps. Kaito groaned, causing the others to look at him in confusion. "If Ran-chan's parents know, as well as the inspector, what do you want to bet our parents know as well?"

"An' they probably won't tell us a damn thing," Heiji swore.

Saguru frowned and turned to Ran. "Mouri-chan, do you remember any changes in Kudo-kun after he went back to school? Anything at all?"

Ran closed her eyes and crossed her arms, listing off all the changes she remembered. "He was thinner, paler, quieter, and read even more than he did before. He went straight home after school, and barely ate his lunches." She paused and opened her eyes. "That's also around the time he stopped eating meat and became a vegetarian. I remember because I was worried about him not eating and made some croquettes for him. He used to say he liked mine better than store bought ones. But when I offered it to him he refused and even yelled at me when I kept insisting."

"He yelled at you?" Kaito asked. He'd never heard Shinichi raise his voice above his normal quiet tone.

The female nodded. "It scared me so much I dropped the croquettes on the ground and ruined them. Sonoko got mad at him, but Shinichi just packed up and left early that day. When I told my parents about it they just said to leave Shinichi alone." Ran looked up in thought. "Other than that, he started actively pushing people away. He even tried to push Sonoko and I away."

She shook her head. "He's gotten a lot better since then, even though he still tries to keep everyone at a distance."

Kaito shivered slightly. "I'm glad we didn't meet Shin-chan back then. He sounded scary."

Heiji glanced at his phone and sighed heavily. "I gotta hurry or I won't catch my train. I'll try ask'n my old man an see if he knows anythin."

Saguru stood as well. "It's getting late, so we should be getting home as well. Thank you for the information Mouri-chan."

Ran shook her head with a smile. "Thank you, for being friends with Shinichi."

Kaito bowed and produced a rose for the female. "Next time we'll definitely make it to Tropical Land."

The four walked towards the train station together before parting ways. When the other two were gone, Saguru asked, "What do you think?"

"I think Shin-chan's been through a lot." He stuck his hands in his pockets as they waited for their train. "I'm also worried about the part where she said he'd been in and out of the hospital for a year."

The blond nodded. "There's not much we can do about it now though. Mouri-chan said it herself – he's gotten better."

Kaito stared at the ground and nodded quietly. He stayed quiet until they were nearly home. "Hakuba…"

"Yes?"

Kaito grinned. "Any plans for the break coming up?"

The detective sighed wearily. "I'm assuming I do now." Kaito simply grinned and dialed Heiji, telling the Osakan not to make any plans for his break either. Once the magician hung up and sent a text to Yukiko, asking her to keep Shinichi's schedule free as well did Saguru ask, "Do I get to know what you're scheming?"

"Nope!" The blond sighed again while Kaito hummed happily to himself.

* * *

 **I wonder if anyone can guess what happened? I'm not sure when I'll reveal it, but I still need to let the others know about the ghosts as well. And who knows what Kaito's planning? Even if you don't, you'll find out next chapter. Let me know what you thought!**


	7. The Kidnapping

**I'm trying to not rush through this story, so no ghosts or revelations in this chapter either. We WILL get there eventually though.**

* * *

Shinichi wondered if he was doomed to be around crazy people his entire life. Out of everyone he knew – ignoring the fact that the number was relatively small – Ran was the most normal. And it was saying something that Sonoko came next in those rankings. Although, with the addition of Saguru, maybe he should reevaluate the list. He supposed Heiji was fairly normal, all considering, just louder than others.

The blue eyed teen glanced out the window, wondering how much longer the flight would last. When he'd first woken up, he'd thought he was still dreaming. He was _sure_ he'd gone to sleep in his own bed, yet when he woke up, he was on an airplane. Unfortunately, they'd already taken off by the time he'd woken, so it was too late for him to get off.

At least he was sitting next to Saguru, rather than Kaito. The blond had apologized and explained that Kaito was behind the trip, but that Shinichi's parents had been the ones who dropped him off at the airport. The glasses wearing teen wouldn't be surprised if they'd drugged him to make sure he stayed asleep. All in all, it was probably his mother's idea to not wake him up. She was typically behind his _'kidnappings'_ that happened.

At this point, he doubted he'd believe someone actually kidnapped him if it happened with how often he'd find himself carted off somewhere – sometimes tied up and sometimes not (and one memorable time stuffed into the trunk of the car) – while he'd been asleep because his mother thought it would be fun. So instead of complaining he'd just sighed and accepted the book offered by the apologetic blond.

They'd been flying for the past hour, not counting the time he'd been asleep, and Shinichi had finished the book given to him. Twice. Unfortunately, it was the only book his parents had packed for him. They probably thought by denying him books and leaving him nowhere to get anymore, he'd actually _talk_ to his kidnappers.

They probably hadn't expected that his seatmate wouldn't talk to him. Probably due to the fact every time he opened his mouth around Shinichi, he wound up getting flustered or embarrassed. Kaito had apparently been banned from any magic tricks while on the plane, and settled for playing cards with Heiji. The Osakan grumbled to himself and sometimes accused the magician of cheating, but still continued to play.

Obviously he'd run out of things to do and figured playing a potentially rigged game was still better than being bored.

Shinichi hoped that they would arrive at wherever they were going soon. He could only reread the same story so many times. Stowing his book, he proceeded to close his eyes once more. Maybe if he pretended this was all a dream, he'd wake up back in his own bed.

"We still have thirty-four minutes and fifty-six seconds until we land," Saguru commented softly. Shinichi nodded slightly, keeping his eyes closed. He could feel his seatmate shift slightly, and could almost picture the hesitant look on his face. All three – though Kaito had hidden it better – had had that look on their face multiple times around him in the past few weeks. Obviously they'd wanted to ask him _something_ , but each time they'd just shake their heads and change the subject.

"What?" He was tired of their walking on eggshells around him. "You've all been avoiding asking me something for weeks." He didn't doubt that the two behind them were listening.

Saguru cleared his throat slightly and shifted some more. Shinichi could feel eyes on him, but didn't bother opening his own. Finally, the blond seemed to reach a decision and said, "We…spoke with Mouri-chan a few weeks ago." Ran had told him about it when she'd gotten home that night. She knew he wasn't comfortable with people talking about his past, and apologized. Shinichi was just glad he'd gotten a heads up about what she'd told them before they'd started questioning him.

"You also spoke with her a few days ago." Shinichi hoped they'd drop it if he made it clear he didn't want to talk about it.

He felt Kaito lean forward and poke his head through the gap in his and Saguru's seats. "Ran-chan told us what happened in elementary school."

"And?" He wondered how much they were able to find out on their own. Judging from the way they seemed almost hesitant to ask, he assumed while they knew some of it, they didn't know exactly what had happened.

He could hear all three of them shifting now, as though silently trying to decide which of them should ask whatever it was they wanted to ask him. It seemed Saguru was the chosen one. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "She told us you were in and out of the hospital during your first year of junior high." Shinichi didn't bother with confirming that fact. "Did…did you…" He paused and seemed to struggle with what to ask before sighing and switching gears. "Mouri-chan also told us you went somewhere with your parents before that. Did something happen during that time?"

Shinichi shrugged lightly. "You tell me, _detective_." They'd obviously done their research. He wanted them to tell him what they knew, before he said anything.

"Nee-chan said you used ta want ta be a detective," Heiji cut in. "Somethin' happen to change yer mind?"

If he wanted to get answers as to how much they've figured out, maybe he should throw them a bone. "What good is being a detective, when all you do is hurt the people you try to protect?"

The three were quiet for a while. Shinichi almost thought that they would stay quiet for the rest of the flight. He was proven wrong when Saguru whispered, "Sometimes the truth can hurt. Sometimes detectives can't protect everyone. But it's better for the truth to be revealed than to let the lies continue."

Shinichi finally opened his eyes and glanced at the blond. "There are some mysteries out there, that are better off remaining mysteries." He turned and focused his gaze outside. According to what Suguru had said earlier, they should be landing in a few minutes.

Saguru was quiet as they left the plane and gathered their bags, content with letting Heiji and Kaito fill the air with small talk. It was obvious that whatever it was that had happened to Shinichi was still hurting him. The raw pain in his eyes when he'd said that some mysteries should remain mysteries proved that.

While it made him want to figure out what had happened all the more, it also made him wonder if they should be prying into his past so much. If it still hurt him this much, were they just making things worse by trying to dredge those memories back up? What right did they have to do that when they'd barely known the blue eyed teen for more than two months?

It wasn't hard to tell that Heiji was thinking the same thing, though Saguru wasn't sure this would be enough to deter the Osakan from continuing their pursuit for the truth. While it was hard to read Kaito, Saguru was sure the magician was feeling guilty for bringing up such painful memories. The messy haired teen didn't like upsetting people. He would rather make a fool of himself to get others to smile.

The blond was broken out of his thoughts when their taxi stopped and Kaito announced happily, "We're here!"

"Remind me again _why_ your parents need another house in Okinawa," Heiji said as they exited the vehicle.

"It's not a house," Kaito corrected, "It's a _villa_. And kaa-san wanted one closer than in Hawaii for when she wanted a quick getaway, so oyaji had one built here." He smiled as he pointed to the one next door. "That one's Shin-chan's. Yukiko-san found out kaa-san had one built here and built her own next door. I think it was mainly because when kaa-san found out she had one in Hawaii, she had oyaji build one next to theirs."

Saguru shook his head. He would never understand those two. He was just grateful his mother was relatively normal. Heiji grumbled as they walked inside. "Is my family the _only_ one without _villas_ everywhere?"

"Yup!" Kaito laughed. "Hakuba's parents have three in various locations in Europe, and two in America." Saguru sighed. He'd never told the magician that. He wasn't entirely surprised though. "And if you think our houses are big, his in London is _huge_. They even have maids and butlers!" That…was a little creepy. He didn't doubt for a second that Kaito didn't know the exact amount along with names, ages, and birthdays of his mothers' staff back in London.

Kaito continued, ignoring the glare Saguru was giving him. "Kaa-san likes going to France, so we have one there, and oyaji-"

"I get it! Ya all have lots a houses!" The Osakan muttered something about rich kids and insane parents.

The magician simply smiled. "You don't have to be jealous." He ignored Heiji's response and opened the door. "Kaa-san and oyaji had groceries delivered earlier, but we're on our own as far as cooking and cleaning go. Oyaji designed this villa, so be careful where you go and what you touch." That…wasn't very reassuring.

Shinichi seemed to agree, as after Kaito said that he backtracked towards the door and started towards his own families' villa. He didn't get far before Kaito blocked his way. "No Shin-chan! We're staying in mine this time! Yukiko-san told me specifically that we're not allowed in yours! Our parents are going to come next week and stay there, so we're staying here."

Saguru was fairly sure he heard the blue eyed teen mutter something along the lines of "they can kick me out next week then," but was too far to be sure.

The magician dragged Shinichi back inside and led the way upstairs. "You can choose whichever room you'd like. There are two bathrooms up here, and another downstairs. I promised kaa-san we'd clean before doing anything else, so once you pick a room we'll clean and then unpack."

Saguru nodded and entered the first room on the left. He made note that Kaito went for the second room down on the right, with Heiji across from the magician and Shinichi across from him. He smiled slightly at the Osakan's smile. If Kaito got bored, whoever was unlucky enough to have a room either across or next to him tended to be his prime targets.

And since his father had built this house, Saguru didn't doubt that at least Kaito's and Shinichi's rooms were connected. He felt bad for the blue eyed teen, but at the same time would rather it be anyone else than him. So with a silent good luck, he entered and set his bags near the bed.

Thankfully the room was fairly simple, with a large bed pushed up against the wall and across from a balcony. There was a nightstand next to the bed, and a desk opposite the door. The door to the closet was near the bed, on the opposite side from the nightstand, and a quick peak inside showed that it was a walk-in with a small dresser built inside. Opening the balcony doors, Saguru let the breeze air out the room as he made his way downstairs.

Kaito was already there, the kitchen table laden with cleaning products. "Hakuba, you're in charge of the bathrooms!" Somehow, the blond wasn't surprised. "Hattori is cleaning the rooms, and I will leave sheets for you all to make your own beds." Saguru was glad – who knew what the magician might slip in there if allowed to do it himself.

"Shin-chan will do the kitchen and main area. I'm going to clean everywhere else, since I don't want you messing with mine or oyaji's equipment." Finished assigning tasks, the magician grinned. Saguru scowled. He wasn't going to like whatever Kaito said next. "Last person done cleaning will be penalized!" The grin Kaito aimed at him caused the blond to frown even harder. He'd given Saguru the bathrooms to clean in order to make him lose this little game. Everywhere else needed a dusting and maybe wiped down a bit, but all the bathrooms had to be scrubbed completely since they probably hadn't been used in a while.

Not to mention Saguru never truly had to do any chores before. His Baaya or his mothers' staff had always taken care of that for him. He didn't doubt Kaito's mother would have had him help with chores, and Heiji probably had to help his mother as well. He wasn't sure about Shinichi, but the blue eyed teen didn't protest and simply grabbed the supplies he needed before heading to the main room to get started. That probably meant he helped out around the house as well.

Scowling at the grinning magician, he snatched the supplies handed to him and marched off towards the lower level's bathroom. All he had to do was follow the directions on the cleaning supplies labels, and he would be fine. He wouldn't give Kaito the satisfaction of asking for help, even if it meant suffering _more_ humiliation by losing the game.

* * *

 **I just realized that Hakuba is hardly seen or heard from, and we don't know a lot about him. We don't even know his fathers' first name. So I took some liberties with his character. I have no doubt Heiji is forced to help at least clean by his mother. I know in canon Kaito lives alone, much like Shinichi, but in here his dad is still alive. As such, he's not living alone. His dad still travels for his magic shows, and his mother goes with him, so he's still alone for periods of time, and his parents would probably make him clean, though Aoko and her father would have him over for his meals.**

 **As far as Shinichi goes, I bet he's pretty decent as housework in canon. Even if his parents didn't make him learn, I bet Ran get annoyed if he let his house get dirty and made him clean it. Since in here I have his parents mostly at home, I think Yukiko makes them all pitch in for the housework. I don't really see them hiring someone just to come and clean.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought!**


	8. The Cleaning

**This might just be the longest chapter yet! Still no ghosts or confessions though. I _promise_ I'll get to it at some point. This is the first story that I'm actually writing like this, since I've gotten into the bad habit of rushing through stories. Let me know if I'm going too slow or putting in too much useless detail and I'll try speeding it up a bit more.**

* * *

Shinichi figured he'd gotten off fairly easily with just the two rooms to clean. All it took was some dusting and wiping down the counters and sink in the kitchen and he was done. Kaito had told him earlier that just the surfaces needed cleaned, but taking a look at the cookware, Shinichi figured he should go ahead and wash those along with the dishes and utensils. He didn't know how long it had been since anyone had used them, and he'd rather not take a chance.

Filling the sink with warm water and a bit of soap, the blue eyed teen shook out all the dish towels he could find and laid them over all the available surfaces. He could lay them out to dry first and go through and use a towel to dry them when he was finished. Setting his gloves aside and rolling up his sleeves, the teen grabbed one of the sponges under the sink.

He started with the larger pots and pans, scrubbing them until he was satisfied they were clean and rinsing them over the other side of the sink before setting them upside down on the dish towels he'd laid out earlier. He let his mind go blank as he continued scrubbing and rinsing every pot, pan, plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork, and spoon.

The repetitive motions allowed him to relax, not having to think about anything. He could hear Saguru trudging up the stairs as he finished the first bathroom, and Heiji's stomping around as he cleaned the rooms upstairs. He couldn't hear Kaito, but wasn't all that surprised. The magician was light on his feet. The sun was warm from where it shone through the window, and the light breeze from the ocean kept him from getting too hot.

It was actually fairly nice, all things considered, and with the windows open there was enough natural light that he didn't need to turn any on. Not to mention the breeze was helping the drying process.

Washing the last spoon, Shinichi went ahead and wiped down the insides of the cabinets and drawers. It would waste the effort he'd gone through to put them back inside dusty spaces. Glancing around at all the clean dishes, the teen nodded and moved back towards the main room. He wanted to double check and make sure he hadn't missed anything.

Ran had gotten into the habit of checking to make sure he and his parents hadn't missed anything while cleaning after having noticed all three Kudo's tended to leave some of the higher spaces or less used areas of the house dusty. They'd all sat through a lecture from her about the importance of cleaning the _entire_ house, and not just the areas that they used every day. After that, it had become a habit to double check that everything was clean before calling it good.

After making sure he hadn't missed anything, Shinichi went back and started finishing drying and putting away everything he'd cleaned. He was slightly surprised the others hadn't come back from their own jobs yet. Heiji's job consisted mainly of dusting, though he supposed the rugs in each room could take a while to beat out if they all had a lot of dust collected. Saguru only had three bathrooms to clean, but having to first dust and then scrub everything down probably took a bit of work.

He wasn't sure about Kaito, but the magician probably had to be careful with his cleaning, lest he set off something or other. He had said his father had designed the house, so he probably also had to clean some hidden rooms or secret passageways. Shinichi wouldn't put it past the elder Kuroba to have included some if he were anything like his son.

With his work done, and everything put away, the blue eyed teen dried his hands and arms before rolling his sleeves back down and putting his gloves back on. Satisfied with the clean kitchen, he made his way upstairs in order to make his bed. He figured he should do it now rather than wait until he was tired.

True to his word, Kaito had left a stack of sheets and a comforter lying on the bed along with some pillows. Checking to make sure they'd been shaken free of dust, Shinichi quickly went about pulling the sheets on and draping the comforter over the top. He situated the pillows at the top of the bed and smoothed any wrinkles in the comforter before tucking in the ends and folding down the top portion.

Turning to his bag, he figured he could go ahead and unpack. He didn't think they had any plans – or he assumed Kaito would have told them if he'd made any – so he wasn't in any hurry to finish. Going through his bag, he was relieved his mother – since he doubted his father had been the one to pack his bag for him – hadn't packed any weird outfits this time. The last time she'd packed his bag for him he'd had to go shopping for new ones as he'd refused to wear any of it.

He took his time in hanging them up, arranging them in the order he'd wear them so he didn't have to deal with picking out his outfits when he woke up. Spotting his laptop in the bag, he silently thanked his father. Now at least he could write if he got too bored.

As he finished putting everything in place, his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since dinner last night. Glancing outside, he realized it was somewhere around lunchtime. He could hear Heiji still banging away at the rugs – from the direction of the voice he figured it was the one in the Osakan's own room – and the sounds of water running from where Saguru was cleaning the bathrooms.

The blue eyed teen shook his head. He thought he would be the last one done, seeing as how he'd taken on the task of cleaning all the dishes as well. Either he was faster than he realized, or they were just really slow. Making his way back downstairs, he took stock of what food was available. He could either make himself something quick, or he could go ahead and make something for everyone to eat.

Weighing his options, Shinichi decided to just make some quick sandwiches for lunch. That way he could eat sooner and easily make enough for the others. Pulling out the bread, he started making a few peanut butter and jelly ones for himself before switching to cheese and sliced meat for the others. On some he put a dollop of mustard, and on others some mayonnaise. He'd found a few different types of cheeses and meats, so he alternated what he put on each sandwich since he didn't know what the others liked.

Assembling the sandwiches and cutting them into triangles, he placed the peanut butter and jelly ones onto a clean plate for himself while putting plastic wrap over the others and sticking them into the fridge for when the others finished. Cleaning his mess and putting the ingredients away, Shinichi pulled out a bottle of tea from the fridge and sat at the table to finally eat.

He glanced to his side as Kaito pulled out the chair next to him and sank into it. "I thought I said you only needed to clean the surfaces."

"I didn't realize you enjoyed dusty food. I'll keep that in mind next time."

The magician sighed. "I _meant_ I figured we could just rinse them off before we used them."

"Easier to get it out of the way now." He ignored the way Kaito's eyes lingered on his sandwiches, silently begging for one. He quietly ate another slice before smacking the magician's hand away when he tried to take one. "There's more in the fridge." The other teen didn't need to be told twice and quickly commandeered one of the plates in the fridge and poured himself a glass of chocolate milk.

"Shin-chan's the _best_ ," He moaned happily between bites. It was fairly quiet as the two ate, which surprised Shinichi. Every other time, Kaito would have been talking about something or another. He was glad though, since the quiet was peaceful.

Finishing the last of his sandwiches, Shinichi got up and washed his plate along with the knives he'd used to make the sandwiches before putting them away. He wiped away any crumbs he'd gotten on the table as he ate before sitting back down. He could feel Kaito watching him, but simply leaned his cheek on one hand and closed his eyes, enjoying the soft breeze coming in through the window.

Their peace was broken as Heiji came back down and slid into one of the empty seats. A quick glance showed him glaring at the magician, who was happily taking big bites to tease the Osakan. Sighing and not wanting to listen to a fight, he pointed towards the fridge with the hand he wasn't leaning on. Kaito pouted at him while Heiji grinned and snagged one of the last two plates.

"Looks like Hakuba's da last one," The dark skinned teen said as he ate.

"You took pretty long yourself," Kaito chuckled. "Shin-chan even finished before you, and he washed _every_ dish and even had time to make lunch."

"I would a been done _earlier_ if ya hadn't kept dumpin yer dust in da rooms."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I only went into my room once while you were busy cleaning, and that was so I could unpack and make my bed."

" _You_ , Kuroba, don't _need_ ta enter da room ta get dust everywhere."

Before Kaito could respond, Saguru finally made his way down and ungracefully slumped into the last empty chair. He rested his head on the table and held up a hand. "Not a _word_ Kuroba." Pausing for a second, he rolled his head to glare at Heiji. "You either Hattori." The two simply grinned. Ignoring them, the blond eyed their remaining sandwiches before looking at Shinichi who simply pointed towards the fridge.

Smiling in thanks, he got up and retrieved the last plate along with a bottle of water. He paused right before he took the first bite and eyed it warily. "Kuroba didn't make these, did he?"

The magician crossed his arms and feigned hurt. "You don't trust me?" He earned a stare that screamed _'Not on your life_ '. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "Shin-chan made them."

The blond relaxed and nodded towards the blue eyed teen. "Thank you for making lunch Kudo-kun."

Heiji polished off his remaining sandwich and smiled. "Yeah, thanks." He turned to Kaito and asked, "Any plan for da rest of da day?"

The magician shook his head. "No, I figured we could use all of today for cleaning and getting settled. The beach is a ten-minute walk if you want to go swimming though."

The Osakan nodded. "How 'bout we all go after Hakuba gets done eatin?"

Kaito folded his arms and shook his head. "I'm not going."

"Why not?"

"I don't like the beach."

Heiji looked dumbfounded. "Then why da _hell_ did ya choose _Okinawa_?"

Kaito pouted. "Because kaa-san and oyaji wouldn't let us use any of the other places. I think it's mainly because kaa-san wants to come here, and since she and oyaji will probably be staying here, she doesn't have to clean when she arrives. That and oyaji said he didn't want all four of us in a different country by ourselves for a week."

"So basically this is their way of giving us space while still being close enough to check in on us," Saguru summarized. Shinichi didn't doubt his parents had a part in the decision as well. They'd never left him alone for long even when he was younger, and after junior high started they made sure at least one of them was at home with him. It was only last year they'd finally left him by himself, but even then it was never for longer than a few days.

This week would be the longest he'd been away from his parents. He wouldn't be surprised if they showed up early or decided to come in a disguise for a few days before their scheduled arrival. Then again, maybe Kaito's parents would keep them busy. If nothing else, he was sure his mother would call at least once in the week before they arrived.

Listening to the three argue about the beach and Kaito's parents' decision, Shinichi wondered what they would do for dinner. They could go and eat out or they could make something here. All in all, Shinichi tended to have better luck eating at home than going out. There were some restaurants that didn't offer a vegetarian meal, and it was very annoying having to ask for them to take out the meat.

Mentally going through the list of food he'd seen, he was relieved at the fact his parents had consulted with the Kuroba's and made sure there were more than enough options for him. He'd have to thank them when they arrived.

Tuning out the conversation that turned towards what the punishment for Saguru finishing last would be, the blue eyed teen stood up and pulled out two pots – one large and one medium – along with a cutting board, measuring tools, a bowl, and a knife. He ignored the stares as he proceeded to pull out the ingredients needed.

"Shin-chan?" Kaito finally asked. "What are you doing?"

"Cutting chicken."

"Why?"

"So it's easier to eat."

Heiji cut in, "Ya just ate lunch. Ya still hungry?"

"No."

"Then why are ya cookin?"

"So I don't have to later."

"You're making dinner now?" Saguru asked. Shinichi simply nodded and poured some oil into one of the medium pots. "Why?"

"So I don't have to later." He smiled inwardly at the three groans. He'd done this all day with Sonoko once before she'd finally given up and threatened to have Ran practice her new karate moves on him.

Kaito switched to another question. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Food." There was a thud on the table, and a glance back showed Heiji had let his head fall onto the wooden surface.

"We _know_ dat," He groaned. "What _kind_ a food?"

"Japanese."

" _Damn it!"_

"Is there a reason you don't want to make it later?" Saguru asked.

"No."

"Then why are you making it right now?"

"So I don't have to later." He wondered how long the three would keep trying. If nothing else, it would prove entertaining while he cooked.

Kaito decided to completely switch topics. "I didn't know you knew how to cook." It wasn't a question, so he didn't bother answering. "Why did you learn?"

"A bet." He paused as he remembered Ran's ominous threats as to what would happen if he relied on convenience store bentos and ramen when his parents were gone. When she'd learned he was learning to cook, she appointed herself his teacher, and threated that if he didn't take the lessons seriously or didn't put his skills to use when she stopped teaching him, the only food he'd be able to have would be through a straw. "And survival."

"Survival?" Saguru asked. "You mean for after you move out of your parents' house?"

"No."

"Because your parents can't cook?"

"No." Both his parents knew how to cook. His father had actually taught his mother, and before he learned how to cook the two would switch off cooking. After he'd become proficient enough, the three rotated cooking duty. When the holidays came around, they all cooked together. His family didn't tend to eat out much.

"Because your parents are gone a lot?"

"No."

"Then what did you mean survival?"

"I didn't learn, I would die." The three were silent as they digested the information.

"Who threatened you into learning?" Kaito asked.

"A girl."

"Yukiko-san?"

"No."

"Ran-chan?"

"Yes."

Kaito grinned as though he'd won, then shivered as he recalled the first time he'd met the karate practitioner. Heiji sniffed and perked up. "Curry?" Shinichi nodded. Chicken curry for the others, and vegetable curry for himself. His mother had beat it into his head that it was rude to make food just for yourself and not for others after the time he'd made himself dinner and hadn't made enough for her or his father.

Saguru smiled. "It smells good." Shinichi had chosen curry because it was mostly adding things and then waiting before adding something else. Simple to do, and he could leave it simmering on low for the duration of the afternoon until they were ready to eat.

As he was letting the two pots heat up to a boil, he got out the rice and washed it before sticking it in the rice cooker and setting the delay timer for a few hours. Shinichi normally only cooked for his family, Ran, and on occasion Sonoko. He knew his parents and Ran would always say it was good, so when Sonoko had complemented his cooking, he'd been surprised and rather happy. It was nice to know his lessons had paid off.

Heiji suddenly groaned as Shinichi added in the potatoes. All that was left was the roux to thicken it, and then he could just let it simmer the rest of the day. "Damn it," The Osakan moaned, "Now I'm hungry again."

Saguru sighed "When _aren't_ you hungry?" He shook his head, "It _does_ smell good though."

The blue eyed teen ignored them and finished off the curry before turning the heat down to low and setting the lids on top of the pots. Satisfied that it would be fine until dinner, he proceeded to begin cleaning. He put away the ingredients he didn't use and washed the utensils before scrubbing down the counter once more.

Only once the kitchen was clean again and dinner safely simmering on the stove did Shinichi head back to the main area. There was a large bookshelf in there, and from a quick glance earlier showed a few titles that he hadn't yet read. He had no doubt that he'd be dragged all over Okinawa for the next two weeks, so he was content to spend the rest of the day reading.

* * *

 **Yes, I know I might have made Shinichi too fast in cleaning, but since I see him helping out a lot at home, I believe he's fast and efficient when cleaning - if only so he can get back to reading sooner.**

 **I can't promise I'll write all of the vacation down (since I've never been to Okinawa and have no idea what they'd do there - It wasn't until I had Kaito suggest the beach to Heiji that I remembered his fear of fish. By then, I didn't want to go back and change it, so I'm sticking with it). Let me know if you have ideas for what they could do (I'm currently trying to at least work in them finding out about the ghosts, but I'm not sure how yet).**

 **Another reason I need ideas is because I tend to hide in my room and don't go outside very often (I live on my computer), so I have no idea what to make them do. Internet research can only get you so far. Anyway, let me know what you thought! And I _promise_ I'm getting to the ghost stuff. You're going to have to wait a bit longer on the whole 'something bad happened' part though. I know exactly what I want to have happened, just not a good way or time to bring it up!**

 **And for SilverQueen08, no it wasn't the BO. I'm starting to think I won't have them in this story, but I still haven't decided. (Haven't decided a lot for it if you couldn't tell). It was a good guess though!**

 **And to Riddle-Snape: you picked up on that huh? Don't worry, I'll post up warnings before the scene.**

 **For anyone who has (even part) of what happened figured out, don't spoil it for the others please. If you want to check to see if you're right, you can pm me and I'll let you know~**

 **And to those who feel I'm ignoring your questions in the reviews, I'm not. I just know that I'm going to be answering it later on in the story.**


	9. The Dress

**Still no ghosts or confessions. Instead, I wanted to give you all some more humor in case something happens and things become more angst-y. Enjoy~**

* * *

Shinichi woke up to loud arguing, some banging, and the smell of something burning. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes, his sluggish mind wondering if it was worth getting out of bed to go and see what had happened.

Sighing heavily, the blue eyed teen reluctantly got out of bed and absently put on his glasses before slowly making his way downstairs. Yawning, he stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and blinked sleepily. Three people were staring at him. One was holding what appeared to be a smoking pan. Another was seemingly washing another pan, though Shinichi's tired brain noted the suds were black as opposed to white. The third was standing between the two, a carton of broken eggs at his feet.

Blinking again, he turned and headed back upstairs. It was too early to deal with whatever was happening. He ignored the footsteps following him. He was going back to bed. He wasn't going to deal with anyone this early. He ignored how his door opened after he closed it and climbed back under the covers, pulling them over his head.

He ignored the way the footsteps stopped next to the bed. He ignored the sounds of shuffling, and voices calling his name. He ignored the poking and tugging at the covers, clutching the blankets tighter. He ignored the people standing behind him when the blankets were finally pulled from his grasp.

He couldn't ignore them when Kaito grabbed his shoulder and pulled until he was forced to face them. He glared at their sheepish looks. "Shin-chan," The magician whined, kneeling down next to the bed until his chin was resting on the covers. He widened his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip. "Can you make us breakfast?"

He wondered if they would actually leave if he said no.

Saguru flushed lightly and cleared his throat. "Please? We…ah…seem to be a bit... _lacking_ …in our culinary expertise."

Heiji rolled his eyes. "We can't cook."

Shinichi didn't want to move. His mind was being pulled back to sleep. The bed was comfortable and warm, and while sleeping he didn't have to worry about the three in front of him. Kaito seemed to notice his eyelids closing, because suddenly he was lifted from the comfortable bed and on his way downstairs again. "Shin-chan," The magician said as he set Shinichi on his feet, holding him steady when the blue eyed teen swayed. "We're hungry."

Lazily pushing off Kaito, Shinichi sluggishly made his way towards the pantry. He'd spotted the coffee beans in there the other day and refused to do anything until he'd had at _least_ two cups of the heavenly liquid. He ignored the others who were watching him and started the coffee maker. He was bound and determined to ignore whatever mess was waiting when he turned around until his sluggish brain woke up.

Pulling out the biggest mug he could see, he forewent any cream or sugar and filled the cup to the brim the second his coffee was ready. He didn't care that it was still scalding hot, and drained his first mug before pouring himself a second. Feeling more awake as he cradled the steaming mug in his hands, Shinichi took a deep breath and turned around.

A glance at the sink showed two blackened pans with _something_ stuck inside them. The blue eyed teen wasn't sure what it was supposed to be. Turning, he found the stove had been left on and part of whatever was stuck in the pans was also burning on the heat. Taking a step forward, he paused and closed his eyes when he heard a crunch, feeling the egg yolk coat the bottom of his foot and seep in between his toes.

Taking a deep breath and opening his eyes, he found none of his three current housemates would look at him. Each seemed to be more interested in the floor or wall. He wasn't sure _what_ they had been trying to make, and he honestly wasn't sure he _wanted_ to know.

Grabbing the sponge left by the sink, he tossed it at Kaito, who caught it on reflex. Catching the indigo gaze, he jabbed his thumb towards the sink. Seeing the other two look up, he motioned them to go help the magician. The three scurried over to the sink to attempt and salvage the poor pans.

Shinichi finished off his second mug of coffee and poured another before opening the fridge. Luckily Kaito's parents had gotten two cartons – judging from the current state of the kitchen, he wasn't surprised they had thought ahead – and pulled the second one out. Pulling out the flour and some other ingredients, he started mixing up some pancake batter.

Pancakes were a quick and easy thing to make for breakfast. Setting the bowl aside, he pulled out a clean pan and a spatula before turning off the section of stove that had the burning…thing. He'd have to wait for it to cool down completely before attempting to clean it. Or he could make the others clean it.

Melting a bit of butter in the pan, he poured some batter in tilted the pan to spread the batter into a circle. Letting it cook, he pulled out a plate and set it nearby. Gently lifting an edge of the pancake to make sure it was cooked, he quickly flipped it so he could cook the other side.

By the time he scrapped the last of the batter into the pan, he had a large stack of pancakes on the plate next to him. He could _hear_ the other three males' stomachs growling. A quick glance back showed they'd stopped cleaning and were simply staring at the stack of pancakes.

"You don't get any until everything is clean," He said softly. He smiled slightly as they all jumped. Saguru and Heiji continued scrubbing the pans while Kaito quickly cleaned up the mess of egg still on the ground and began wiping down the counters.

Shinichi took the plate of pancakes to the table. He should threaten to withhold food more often if it got others moving. He pulled out three plates and set them on the table along with forks, knives, butter, and syrup. Pouring the last of the coffee into his mug, he popped a piece of bread into the toaster for himself.

Ran had complained that he needed to eat a better breakfast, but Shinichi was never hungry in the mornings. If it were up to him, he'd just have his coffee and nothing else. Unfortunately, both his parents and Ran always knew if he skipped breakfast.

"Is that all you're eating?" Kaito asked with a frown, eyeing the one piece of toast with jelly smeared on top.

Shinichi shrugged. "It's all I normally eat for breakfast."

Heiji shook his head as he drizzled syurp over his stack of pancakes. "Ya need ta eat more. Yer already too thin." The blue eyed teen ignored him. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"You should also get outside more," Kaito added, poking Shinichi's bare left arm. The teen swatted his finger away. "You're so pale." The magician seemed to think of something and looked Shinichi up and down. "This is probably the least I've ever seen you wear." The blue eyed teen sighed. He normally wore sweats and a long sleeved shirt to bed, but it was hot even with the window open, so he'd switched into old shorts and a t-shirt. He also hadn't had time to put his gloves on, and was currently barefoot thanks to the magician carrying him downstairs.

"Your smile is creepy – should I call Ran and warn her I might be attacked on this trip?"

Kaito huffed. "I'll have you know I'm a _gentleman_ and would _never_ attack someone."

"You already attacked me once."

"It was a _hug_ damn it! _When_ are you going to let that _go_?!"

"The definition of attack is _to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon_. You set yourself upon me in a forceful manner without my consent and proceeded to stay that way even after it was clear I was uncomfortable." He paused. "You also attacked me this morning by forcefully removing me from the bed."

Kaito groaned while Saguru and Heiji laughed. "Yer never gonna win," The Osakan stated.

Shinichi drained the last of his coffee. "Hakuba-kun is the only one here who I shall consider a gentleman as he is the only one who has not forced himself upon me in some manner."

Heiji and Kaito flushed. "Do ya _have_ ta word it like that?! Ya make it sound like we _violated_ ya."

Shinichi didn't blink. "To violate is to _break in upon or disturb rudely_. Each time you forced yourselves on me you disturbed me rudely. In other words, you each have attacked and violated me." He turned to Saguru who had his head in his hands. "I feel unsafe here."

"Kudo-kun," The blond sighed, "You are perfectly safe here. Hattori and Kuroba did not mean to… _attack_ you. I can assure you they won't do so again."

"So you're willing to take responsibility should something happen?"

"That's not what I-"

"Then I trust you'll be able to keep them in check while I shower and change?" He didn't give the gaping blond a chance to respond as he set his plate and cup in the sink before making his way back upstairs.

* * *

Saguru wondered if this was punishment for their cooking disaster earlier. Sighing, he took his plate, fork, and knife over to the sink and started rinsing them. It wouldn't be fair to make Shinichi do the cooking _and_ cleaning.

"Oh Hakuba~" The blond stiffened at the tone and turned slowly. Kaito was grinning in a way that made him shiver. "I do believe I've come to a decision regarding your _punishment_ for finishing cleaning last." Saguru had nearly forgotten about that.

The magician stood and Saguru tried to step back, only for his back to hit the edge of the sink. There was a puff of smoke and something seemingly attempting to tug him in every direction. Coughing and waving the smoke away, the blond blinked at the satisfied look on Kaito's face. Heiji blinked for a few moments before doubling over in laughter.

Saguru closed his eyes and wondered if he even _wanted_ to know. From the sudden breeze on his legs, he was no longer in his pants. Something was brushing across his neck and shoulders, and when he leaned back against the sink, he could feel soft fabric brushing against his knees.

He'd bet everything the magician had put him in either a skirt or a dress. The stuff brushing his neck and shoulders was probably a wig. He felt his cheeks flush as he suddenly became aware of the fact that under the skirt his boxers were missing. Instead, something silky clung to his backside and pressed against his genitals.

Finally daring to open his eyes, he glanced down and found that he was in a blue dress that flared out slightly at his waist, reaching down to his knees. The collar of the dress was wide and hung off both shoulders, white lace edging it. His flush got darker as he noticed his new… _assets_ that clung to his chest. Reaching up, he found that the wig was a lighter blond than his hair, and hung in loose curls down to just above his shoulders.

Kaito was kind enough to hand him a mirror, showing the magician had _somehow_ managed to get vivid blue contacts into his eyes, and cover his face in a light coating of makeup. "Unfortunately," The indigo eyed teen sighed, "I have yet to master the art of waxing others in such a short amount of time." Saguru was very thankful for that fact. "So you'll just have to deal with the stocking instead." Blinking, he looked down and found thigh high white stockings on his legs.

The worst part for the blond was that not only did the outfit fit like it had been _tailored_ to him – which he figured it probably was, and that was slightly disturbing – but it actually didn't look as ridiculous as he felt in it. He knew that if he tried to take it off, Kaito would only make it worse for him. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally asked, " _Why_?"

The magician huffed. "I'm _obviously_ much more of a gentleman than _you_." He winked. _"Especially_ now." Of course. _Of course_ Kaito would subject him to this humiliation because of that. He hadn't even been the one to _say_ it! "I wonder if Shin-chan will appreciate my work."

"Can I _at least_ have my boxers back?" He ignored how Heiji's laugh got louder, and felt his cheeks reddening once more.

"No." The grin didn't bode well. "Besides," Saguru didn't have time to react before his view was blocked by the blue of his skirt and the breeze suddenly blew a lot higher than previously. "The details bring the outfit together."

The blond felt his entire face and neck heat up as he listened to Heiji choke on air. He quickly brought his hands up and pushed the skirt back down, glaring at the laughing magician. Turning to leave, he faltered when he found Shinichi standing in the entryway. From the look on Kaito's face, he'd timed the skirt flip to happen just as the blue eyed teen arrived. He could swear his blush deepened.

To his credit, Shinichi simply blinked and said, "If you two wanted to be alone, you could have just asked." He glanced towards Heiji. "Unless you're all involved?"

Saguru wanted to die of mortification. Heiji had gone white – which was saying something for the dark skinned teenager – and Kaito was gaping. "Wa-N-No!" The magician finally stumbled out. "I…this…I mean…it's his punishment for finishing his cleaning last!"

"From the way you two were eyeing his underwear a moment ago," Saguru was ready to be swallowed by the earth, and Kaito was now fully blushing and stammering excuses. Heiji seemed to be imitating a statue. "I was worried maybe Hakuba-kun would be the one attacked rather than me." Shinichi paused before shrugging. "Or maybe you were just staring so much because you secretly wanted to be the ones wearing the silk underwear. I suppose everyone has their kinks."

The blond fell to his knees, hands resting on the cool wood before him. "Please," He whispered, not sure if he could handle anymore, "Please stop."

The blue eyed teen raised an eyebrow and turned to leave. He stopped for a moment and looked back. "Kuroba-kun," The magician weakly looked at the glasses wearing teen, "Two things. One, it's not very gentlemanly of you to flip someone's skirt up. And two, you may find it funny, but it's not sanitary to force others to wear your underwear."

Saguru took a moment to realize that he was the one sobbing.

* * *

 **So while I enjoy making the others unable to cook, I think that Heiji at least knows how to make very basic dishes (I doubt his mother would trust him to eat well after moving out and pounded in at least simple recipes into his head). I doubt he'd cook for himself that often though. He'd probably eat out a lot. I don't think Hakuba knows how to cook though. He's probably never had reason to learn. I do think he'd be alright if he had a recipe with specific instructions to follow.**

 **I like imagining that Kaito and his father don't cook because they don't follow the recipe and wind up adding too much or too little of something to experiment.**

 **I feel bad for Hakuba here, but at the same time I needed to do _something_ for his 'punishment'. (And I admit to enjoying tormenting him - I'm still having trouble getting Heiji's accent down, so he's harder for me to write, and Shinichi is already tormenting Kaito more than the others, so I like imagining that this is Kaito's way of pushing embarrassment off onto someone else - not that Shinichi lets him) And I like to this this is Shinichi's revenge not only for forcing him to wake up and cook breakfast, but also for their utter failure at attempting to cook.**

 **I know I haven't written much for the ghosts or confession or anything, but I _will_ get to it...eventually. I might make the chapter after next that they learn about Shinichi's powers, but we'll have to see. (I would say next chapter, but I'm almost done writing it and at the moment it's half humor half angst with no ghosts in sight). I also still haven't come up with a good way to have that happen that's also believable. I really don't want to write something like, "They touched him and suddenly a ghost showed up."**

 **Not only have I made Shinichi careful about avoiding touch, but also I want to have a valid reason for a ghost (or ghosts) to be there and for the others to find out.** **I might have the start of something, but the idea is a little vague in my mind, so we'll have to wait and see what comes of it.**

 **Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas, and for all the awesome reviews! I have at least one place I want them to go to now, and depending on how it writes itself, I may be able to fit another ghost in. So maybe a few more hints about the powers, if not a reveal.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought!**


	10. The Setback

**Tigerlily and Shana-Fujioka** **\- for your question about ships in the story, so far the only established one is Ran and Sonoko. I'm not sure if I'll actually have another pairing or keep them friends, but we'll see what happens.**

* * *

Shinichi was woken up by the smell of coffee. Groaning a little, as he was still tired, he cracked an eye open and found three fuzzy, blob-ish figures nearby. The smell of coffee was coming from their direction, and the blue eyed teen took a moment to debate whether he should succumb to temptation and wake up to get the coffee, or if he should ignore it and go back to blissful sleep.

Sighing heavily, he forced his eyes open and blinked until the fuzzy blobs cleared into his three current housemates. Kaito was the one holding the coffee, and he smiled while holding it out. The magician was lucky he was holding the precious liquid, or Shinichi would show him _why_ he was typically allowed to sleep in.

He glared at the three for a few moments, still not having enough energy to actually get up from the comfortable bed. Noticing the dark skinned teen shifting forward, he growled, "Touch me and you lose your hand." Heiji raised his hands and backed off, a nervous smile on his face. It didn't matter that his voice cracked with sleep – he was serious and made sure the others knew it.

Slowly pushing himself into a semi-sitting position, he accepted the cup offered to him. They were all strangely quiet, but Shinichi preferred it that way. They were probably waiting for him to finish his coffee before asking him to make breakfast again. He couldn't exactly blame them, having seen their attempt to cook the previous morning. That didn't mean he enjoyed being woken up just to feed them. They weren't children, and he wasn't responsible for them.

He sipped his coffee slowly. He wasn't in any hurry to finish and leave the bed.

"Shin-chan~" Kaito whined, his stomach growling. The blue eyed teen ignored him.

"Do ya _want_ us ta try cookin' again?" Heiji asked, his own stomach growling.

Shinichi shrugged. "You'll be the ones eating it." The Osakan frowned.

"What if we burn da house down?"

"I didn't know arsonists could become detectives."

"I _meant_ on accident."

"Which is why you threatened to burn it down."

The blond cut Heiji off before he could continue. "Please Kudo-kun. I know you don't typically eat breakfast, but you are the only one here who actually knows how to cook edible food."

Shinichi scowled into his mug. Saguru was starting to catch on and was choosing his words more carefully. "Besides," Kaito said, "We need to leave in the next hour if we want to make it to our destination today."

"An where's our _destination_?" Heiji asked.

"Tokashiki island," The magician stated happily. "The ferry leaves at ten, so we need to be at the port by nine thirty. It takes about an hour to get there, so we need to leave by eight thirty, which is a little over an hour from now."

The blond sighed and turned back to Shinichi who drained the last of the mug. "Please Kudo-kun?"

Sighing, Shinichi reluctantly swung his legs out from under the covers and set them on the ground. Heiji and Kaito perked up while Saguru smiled gratefully. He set his mug on the nightstand and shuffled over to the closet to grab some clothes for the day. He didn't care how hungry they were – they could wait until after he showered and changed.

Pulling out his clothes for the day, he made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower. "Eh?" Kaito's face fell as he trailed behind Shinichi. "Weren't you going to make breakfast?"

Shinichi paused at the bathroom door and glanced back at the sad magician. "A large pan, butter, eggs, bacon, and bread." He turned back towards the bathroom. "Get those out. I'll be down in a little bit." He shut the door before Kaito could reply, but listened as three sets of footsteps – one light and nearly covered by the others – headed down the stairs. He smiled slightly as he turned on the shower – it was a nice change to see people get so excited over something as small as breakfast.

* * *

Kaito happily dug into his breakfast, humming in appreciation of the taste. "Shin-chan is such a good cook. He's going to make a great wife some day!"

"That's fairly sexist Kuroba-kun," Shinichi stated, slowly scanning the newspaper that had been delivered earlier. "Why should wives be the only ones responsible for the cooking?"

The magician groaned. Couldn't he say _one thing_ without having it thrown back into his face? "It was a _joke_ Shin-chan." He rolled his eyes. "Fine, Shin-chan will make a great _husband_ one day. Is that better?"

"If being a good spouse was all about cooking abilities, we wouldn't have so many divorces."

"Can't you just take my compliment and be happy?"

"No. I'm genetically programmed to reject all complements and remain in a state of unhappiness."

Kaito huffed. "Maybe I should just insult you then, since you don't like compliments."

"You insulting me would be the absolute worst thing ever to happen to me. It would kill me. Please spare me." The level of dryness in Shinichi's voice could put deserts to shame. Heiji laughed while Saguru attempted to cover his chuckled with a cough.

The magician pouted. "Shin-chan's so mean to me." He folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on top of them. "Do you hate me?"

"I'm mean to everyone."

Kaito stood suddenly, his hands nearly slamming onto the table. "Liar! You're meaner to me than anyone else!" Shinichi raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "How come you're only so mean to me?"

The blue eyed teen set the newspaper down and stared at the magician. "You're annoying." He ignored the tensing of Kait's shoulders, and the shifting from the other two. "You talk too much. You never stop bothering me. You have no regards for personal space. You drag me places even if I have no interest in going. You continuously touch me even when you know I'm uncomfortable with it. You ask questions and dig into my past without permission. You go at your own pace without thinking about how it makes others around you feel."

He paused and emptied his mug once more, letting his words sink in. "I hate everybody Kuroba-kun. Don't think you're special." Shinichi stood and left, heading back to his room. It was only after hearing Kaito's question that he realized he was getting too comfortable around the three. He'd only known them for a few months, yet they'd managed to piece together more than even Ran knew. He needed to get some distance. If he let them get too close, he'd just get hurt again in the end.

It was always the same. People would worm their way in, only to leave again. Shinichi was tired of being hurt. He was tired of people pretending to care. He was tired of trusting others, only for them to betray that trust in the end.

It was better to keep everyone out. It was better to be alone. Being alone meant nobody could hurt you. Being alone meant he couldn't accidently hurt anyone else. Being alone was the best choice for him. It was his only choice.

Closing his door, the blue eyed teen leaned his back against it and clutched his arms with slightly trembling hands. Being alone was what he wanted. He needed to keep others out, both for his safety and theirs.

"Why," He whispered to himself, slowly sliding down until he was sitting on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his knees. "Why does it hurt so much?" He barely knew the three. He'd only met them a few months ago. How had they gotten so close? How had he not realized?

He let go of his arms and wrapped them around his knees, pulling his legs closer. Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone?

* * *

Kaito was in shock. He knew he was crying, but couldn't stop. Feeling his knees buckle, he fell heavily back into his chair. Swallowing heavily, he looked to his other two friends. Saguru was staring at where Shinichi had disappeared to, so the magician couldn't see his expression. Heiji was frowning and had his fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white.

"I…I j-just wanted t-to be his friend."

"It's not yer fault," Heiji growled. "He's just a bastard."

The magician shook his head. He'd thought they were doing better. He'd thought they were finally getting closer to being Shinichi's friend. He hadn't realized he was just annoying the other teen. He buried his face in his hands. It was quiet for a few moments before Saguru whispered, "Crying."

Kaito sniffed and looked up, but the blond was still looking towards the entrance to the kitchen. "W-What?"

Saguru turned to look at him and Heiji, a frown on his face. "He was crying."

The Osakan frowned. "Dat doesn't make sense. _He's_ da one dat said it. Kuroba cryin' I can understand, 'cause dat was pretty harsh, but why da hell was _he_ cryin' too?"

The blond shook his head. "When we spoke with Mouri-chan, she told us he seemed happier, right?" Kaito rubbed his eyes and nodded. "If that were true, then what he just said doesn't make sense. Not to mention someone who supposedly hated us wouldn't willingly get up and make us breakfast when he himself merely has toast. Not to mention going out of his way to make lunch and dinner for us when he could have only made enough for himself."

Heiji folded his arms and sighed irritably. "An even 'do he's a vegetarian he made our food with meat."

"But…" Kaito was confused. "T-then why did he say that?"

Saguru put his elbows on the table and linked his fingers together, placing his chin on top. "Kuroba, did you notice?" The magician blinked in confusion. "When you asked if he hated you, his demeanor changed. Before, his words were more teasing than hurtful. When you asked that, it's almost like he closed up. I couldn't detect any anger or even annoyance behind his words."

Heiji glared at the wall across from him. "Dis doesn't make sense."

Kaito looked down at the empty plates left on the table. Almost a month after he'd first met Shinichi, he'd asked the blue eyed teens mother the same question.

 _"Yukiko-san, does Shin-chan hate me? It feels like he does."_

 _The retired actress smiled softly and shook her head. "I know it may seem that way Kai-chan, but trust me when I say he doesn't hate you."_

 _"But-"_

 _"Kaito," Yusaku spoke up as he entered the room. "You're going to have to be patient with Shinichi. He's been hurt by a lot of people."_

 _The magician frowned. "I don't think I'm making things better though."_

 _"That's not true." Yukiko put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard, but please don't give up."_

 _The author nodded and stood behind his wife. "Shinichi pushes everyone he meets away. Don't let him push you away as well."_

Kaito felt new tears well up in his eyes. That was exactly what was happening. Shinichi was trying to push them away, and the magician had given him the perfect opportunity to do so. The blue eyed teen was going to use this as a way to try and get rid of them. "I don't want that to happen."

"Don't want what to happen?" Saguru asked.

Kaito frowned and clenched his fists. "I don't want to let Shin-chan push us away. I don't want to stop being his friend."

"Kuroba…" The dark skinned teen trailed off.

"No! I know he says mean things, and acts a little weird, but he's still my friend!" He looked up at the two, tears in his eyes. "It's fun being with him. Talking with him is like a game – saying the wrong thing will end up embarrassing you, so you have to really think about it before you talk." He smiled, remembering when Heiji had first gotten a firsthand taste to Shinichi's way of twisting words. "And even though his words can sting, he's still nice."

He remembered how the blue eyed teen had used his way with words to verbally beat down some older men who loudly disapproved of Ran and Sonoko holding hands in public. The two men had been so shamefaced and angry as they stalked off. Sonoko had laughed loudly while Ran had smiled at her childhood friend. Shinichi had said something about saving PDA for private, but treated the girls to some cake afterwards. He'd even paid for Kaito, Saguru, and Heiji's share, though he'd complained while he did so.

The three were quiet for a bit before Heiji sighed. "Fine. So what's da plan?"

Kaito smiled and wiped his eyes on his arm. Checking his watch he said, "The ferry leaves in just under an hour. If we hurry, we can make it before it leaves."

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on getting Kudo-kun to agree to come?" The magician grinned and pulled out some rope and cloth in a puff of smoke. The blond sighed wearily. "I highly doubt kidnapping him with help the situation."

"It's for his own good," Kaito responded, making the items disappear.

Heiji shrugged. "I'll help ya hold 'im down."

The indigo eyed teen nodded. "Make sure he doesn't squirm too much while I deal with his clothes."

Saguru knew nothing he said would stop the two. "Just don't be too rough." He paused and frowned. "What do you mean _deal with his clothes_?"

Kaito stood up and brought his dishes to the sink. "He'll overheat in what he was wearing. Even if he doesn't like it, shorts and a t-shirt is better for a day as hot as today." He skipped towards the stairs. "Come on Hattori, if we don't hurry we'll miss the ferry!"

* * *

 **I don't think you all realize how close I was to ending the chapter with Shinichi against the door like that. The only reason I didn't was because it seemed too short to me.**

 **Also, I was going to have them all wallow in the angst for a while, but my fingers wouldn't let me. Besides, I have a plan for Tokashiki island that wouldn't really work if I had them miss the ferry. That, and I figured I have enough ideas for angst-y parts in the story later.**

 **I felt the need to add this part in because Shinichi keeps everyone out, and the only people he is close to in this store are the ones he was close to before everything happened. Therefore, when he realizes that he's starting to let others in, he gets scared and does his best to push them away. Unfortunately for him, they've gotten closer than he realized and it's hurting him to push them away as much as it hurt Kaito to hear those things.**

 **So, next chapter is Tokashiki island and (hopefully) some ghosts. Depending on how it goes, there may also be a bit of a heart to heart coming up in a later chapter (though it'll be like prying teeth for the three to get Shinichi to tell them anything)**

 **Ascella star: I took your advice and that's how I found Tokashiki island (thank you google), so a big thank you there!**

 **Riverly-Melody: I like your idea for the crowds, and will probably incorporate that next chapter or later on, so thank you~**

 **And since I've reached 10 chapters, here's an omake~**

Yukiko smiled as she pulled Shinichi down to sit between her and her husband. "Did you have a fun week to yourselves?" She asked.

"Don't leave me alone with them again," The blue eyed teen said, leaning against his mother.

"Did something happen?" The former actress relished in the rare touch, running her fingers through her baby's hair.

"I was in danger of being sexually assaulted." She raised an eyebrow as Kaito, Heiji, and Saguru all choked on their drinks.

The other five parents in the room frowned at their son's. "Kaito?" Chikage asked her son.

"Why do you think it was me?!" The magician looked affronted at the fact that his own parents thought he would do such a thing.

"Are you sure you didn't misunderstand something?" Shizuna asked. In response, Shinichi pulled out his cellphone and played an audio file.

 _"It's for his own good,"_ Kaito's voice said. The magician paled.

 _"I'll help ya hold 'im down."_ Heiji's voice was next, and the Osakan began sweating as his parents turned to look at him.

Toichi held his son firmly in place as the younger Kuroba attempted to make a grab for the phone. _"Make sure he doesn't squirm too much while I deal with his clothes."_ Kaito whimpered slightly as his mother gripped his arm painfully and his father's grip tightened on his shoulder.

 _"Just don't be too rough."_ Saguru choked on his tea once again and Shinichi stopped the recording before putting away his phone.

"I was scared," He said, burying his face in Yukiko's shoulder.

"Don't worry Shin-chan," The former actress said, wrapping her arms around her son, "Next time we'll send the girls to protect you. Right, Ran-chan?" She turned and smiled at the group of teenage girls smiling menacingly at the pale and sweating boys who were trying to stammer out excuses.

The karate practitioner cracked her knuckled. "Of course Yukiko-san."

" _Kaito_ ," Aoko growled, a mop in her hands.

"Heiji," Kazuha glared at the dark skinned teen, "Ya have some explainin' ta do."

The three males gulped in fear before glaring at Shinichi. Said teen let them see the small smile on his face before he hid it in his mother's shoulder once again.


	11. The Island

**So, there's some mentions of ghosts, but the other three still don't know anything yet. They may get some hints or something in the next chapter. I hope this also explains a little bit more of Shinichi's powers.**

 **Also, I just thought of this, but is it alright for me to be calling Hakuba a 'half brit'? I've seen in it multiple other stories and just sorta unconsciously put it in here, but I never thought to ask and make sure I wasn't unintentionally using an insulting term. I just needed another way to describe him other than 'the blond' each time, and since he's half British...**

 **If someone could let me know that would be great. I don't want to use it if it's actually seen as insulting or something. If it is, I'll go back and change it.**

* * *

Shinichi's head hurt. He wasn't sure what happened, but it felt like jackhammers were pounding away at his skull. He slowly brought a hand up and clutched his head, groaning a little. Pushing himself up on one elbow, he forced his eyes open slightly only to close them again as bright light assaulted him. Rubbing his eyes a little, he opened them again and looked around.

He wasn't in his room. He wasn't even in the Kuroba's villa. Glancing down, he felt his heart rate speed up a little. The clothes he was wearing weren't his. Putting his face in his hands, he froze. He wasn't wearing his glasses. A quick look around showed they weren't nearby. Feeling his ears, he sighed in relief when he found his earplugs were still in.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, the blue eyed teen looked around. There were a lot of people, but he didn't see Kaito, Saguru, or Heiji among them. He wasn't too surprised though. After what he'd said to them, he doubted they wanted to be around him. The thought sent a small pang through his heart, but he ignored it. This way was for the best.

Rubbing his temples, Shinichi thought back to what had happened. After going upstairs, he'd heard footsteps and then a pounding at his door. He hadn't opened it, but Kaito had yelled…something, before he'd burst inside. After that, things got fuzzy.

Groaning again, he let his hands fall to his sides and jerked his left hand back when it brushed something cold and wet. Startled, he looked down and saw a drink that _hadn't_ been there two seconds ago. Looking up, he frowned when he didn't see anyone nearby. Spying a folded note set partly under the cold drink, he slowly picked it up and opened it.

 _Shin-chan,_

 _We brought you to Tokashiki island with us! We didn't mean to knock you out, but you accidently set off one of my canisters of knockout gas when you grabbed me. It sure made getting you here easier though! And with the added benefit of not looking like a kidnapping!_

 _I'm sorry if I upset you. If you don't like something I do, you should tell me and I'll stop. I may be a great magician, but I'm not a mind reader. Hattori, Hakuba, and I want to be your friends._

 _Anyway, the other two went snorkeling. I refused to go, so it's just you and me for a while~ ;)_

 _I made a sandcastle while you were asleep. If you want, you can come and rule it with me~_

 _Your friend,_

 _Kuroba Kaito_

 _P.S. Hattori accidently stepped on your glasses and broke them. Sorry! We'll get you new ones later!_

Shinichi sighed and crumpled the note, putting it into the pocket of the shorts he was wearing. So not only had he been drugged and taken to some island, but he was also wearing what he assumed to be some of Kaito's clothes rather than his own and his glasses were broken. And to top it off, the only three people he knew were off who knew where, leaving him alone on a beach with a multitude of strangers – and ghosts, but they didn't know that.

He glanced up at the large parasol above him. At least they had left him some shade. Grabbing two of the spare towels lying folded nearby, he draped one over his legs and used the other to wrap around his shoulders. He didn't care how strange it looked, he didn't want to chance someone touching him. It was bad enough someone had carried him to the island.

Licking his lips, he sighed and reluctantly reached for the drink left for him. Taking a small sip, he sighed and pulled his knees up to his chest, letting his head fall on top of them. It was an iced coffee. Turning so his cheek was lying on his knees instead of his forehead, he blankly watched everyone else enjoy the sunshine or splash around in the ocean.

Some of the ghosts were watching over the people they had been forced to leave behind. Some were attempting to play even though they continued to pass through other people and objects. Some were wandering aimlessly. Turning his head to the other side, the blue eyed teen felt his shoulders droop as he spotted a few people with dark clouds, some darker than others. One was contemplating suicide. Another was in danger of being killed. Two elderly people would die soon of natural causes.

Burying his face into his knees once more, Shinichi shifted the towel around his shoulders so it would also cover his head. No matter where he went, no matter how many people were smiling and laughing and having fun, death was always lurking. Shinichi didn't want to see it. He didn't want to see how death was creeping up on unsuspecting people, or know that others who were smiling were also thinking about killing themselves.

He didn't want to see the ghosts who were forced to watch their loved ones move on with their lives. He didn't want to see the ghosts who followed their killers around, praying someone would catch them. He didn't want to see the ghosts that were left to wander aimlessly because either nobody had found their body, or because they were buried under the wrong names.

Shinichi was tired of having to see death everywhere. He was tired of people dying when he was nearby. He was tired of the terrified looks he'd get, when people learned the truth. He was tired of the Shinigami jokes by the police, because death seemed to follow him. They didn't know how right they were, or how much their jokes hurt because they continuously reminded him of the curse he was forced to bear.

Shinichi was tired.

Kaito may have thought he was trying to help, but this was only making things worse. He was only reminding the blue eyed teen of everything he hated about himself. Shinichi wished the magician wasn't so set on being his friend. He wished Kaito wasn't so much fun to tease. He wished the indigo eyed teen wasn't so nice. He wished it was easier to push him away.

He wished they would just leave him alone, like everybody else.

"Shin-chan?" The blue eyed teen pulled the towel tighter around himself. Kaito's voice was hesitant and worried, and made Shinichi feel awful. He could feel the magician sitting next to him – feel the hand that stopped inches from his shoulder before leaving.

It was quiet between them. Awkward and strained rather than comfortable. Kaito shifted and stood up. "Shin-chan," His voice was more confident, and Shinichi peeked out from his little towel shell. The magician was smiling down at him, one hand outstretched. "Let's go."

Shinichi shied away. He'd already hurt the magician. He didn't want to hurt him more by forcing him to see the ghosts that he had to see. Kaito's shoulders dropped slightly and he crouched in front of the blue eyed teen.

He brought his hands up and draped something around Shinichi. "I thought you'd be cooler in shorts and a t-shirt. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Sorry." The blue eyed teen blinked and reached up to feel what had been placed around him. Pulling it off, he found a lightweight, white jacket in his hands. "I got it from a shop nearby. I got a few sizes bigger so the sleeves will cover your hands because I forgot your gloves at home." Kaito stood up again and held out his hand once more.

"Why?" The question was barely a whisper. Why was he being so nice? Why was he apologizing? Why wouldn't he just leave? Why did he even _care_?

The magician smiled. "Because I'm your friend shin-chan, and that's what friends do."

Shinichi gripped the jacket tighter and slowly pulled it on. It was huge on him, and the sleeves went further than his hands. Zipping it up, he pulled the hood up and found it hung over his eyes and even covered part of his nose. The blue eyed teen wondered if Kaito had gotten the biggest size they had. He felt like the jacket swallowed him. Seeing the hand in front of his face, he slowly reached up and took it.

Kaito pulled him to his feet and chuckled when the bottom of the jacket almost reached his knees. "You look cute Shin-chan." Shinichi kept his eyes on the sand, and didn't protest when the magician kept hold of his hand and pulled him to wherever they were going.

* * *

Kaito smiled as he pulled Shinichi along. The jacket was the absolute largest the store had sold, and nearly drowned the blue eyed teen. The large hood covered his face, and the magician could feel the arms hand in his through the material. He grinned widely at the other people commenting on how they were such a cute couple. He could swear he saw a hint of red from under the hood as Shinichi ducked his head further.

The magician wasn't surprised that people were mistaking the other teen for a girl. The jacket hid his figure, and he looked absolutely adorable in it. He'd have to remember to get a picture before they left. He was sure Yukiko would enjoy it, and Ran would probably find it perfect teasing material.

He came to a stop in front of his sandcastle. He was rather proud of the job he'd done on it. It was nearly the size of a house, and the details were worthy of an actual castle if he did say so himself. Kids were laughing and running in and out of it, marveling at his workmanship.

Bending down slightly to see his companions' expression, he smiled at the surprised and slightly awed look Shinichi sported. Letting go of the stunned teens' hand, he stepped forward and spread his arms wide. "I have returned my loyal subjects! And with me, your new queen!" He gently pulled Shinichi forward, ignoring the small glare thrown his way.

The kids laughed and ran around them as Kaito led the way into the sandcastle. Inside were two sand thrones, and the magician offered one to Shinichi before taking the other for himself. He continued to make grand proclamations to the children, who just laughed and continued playing, while keeping an eye on his silent friend.

When changing the teen into something cooler, he hadn't realized it would make Shinichi so uncomfortable. He'd felt guilt stir in his gut when he'd watched him cocoon himself in the towels. The magician had run to the nearest store to get the jacket, hoping it would make the blue eyed teen feel more comfortable.

Glancing at his phone, he figured Heiji and Saguru should be getting back from their snorkeling trip soon. "Shin-chan," He stood up and held out his hand once again. "Want to go get some shaved ice?" Even though the jacket was lightweight, the blue eyed teen was probably getting hot just sitting out under the sun like this.

He was proven right when Shinichi nodded and took his hand again, allowing himself to be pulled up. Kaito wondered if he even realized that they were still technically holding hands. The magician smiled to himself. If he didn't realize it, Kaito wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

Leading the way out of his sandcastle, the magician waved towards Heiji and Saguru, who were headed towards them. Heiji looked impressed while Saguru was simply shaking his head. He dragged Shinichi over to them with a smile.

"How da hell did ya manage ta make _dat_ out a _sand_?" The Osakan asked by way of greeting.

"Magic." The detectives rolled their eyes but didn't press it. There was a slight awkward silence after that, with Shinichi still staring at the sand and the other two not knowing what to say. Kaito sighed. "Shin-chan and I are going to get some shaved ice."

He pulled the blue eyed teen along and the detectives trailed after them. Heiji rubbed the back of his head as he fell into step with Shinichi. "Sorry 'bout your glasses. I didn't see 'em layin' there."

Kaito snorted at the muttered, "Maybe you need glasses then." Heiji scowled slightly, but seemed to relax. The magician had made the dark skinned teenager carry Shinichi because he'd broken the glasses. He'd piggybacked the blue eyed teen to the bus, then to the ferry, and finally to the beach where they'd left him sleeping.

"We should get some lunch first," Saguru noted, glancing at the sky. He'd left his precious pocket watch back at the villa to keep it safe.

Kaito nodded. "The place that sells shaved ice also sells regular food, so we can eat lunch there."

"Should I be worried about what type of shaved ice they sell here?"

Heiji laughed and Saguru covered a smile. The blond shrugged slightly. "I suppose that depends on your definition of _regular._ " Kaito stuck his tongue out at the half brit, but grinned as he saw a small smile on Shinichi's face. The magician nodded to himself. This vacation had been a good idea.

* * *

 **Here's a bit of ghosts. Next chapter will still be on Tokashiki island, but I wanted to split it up a bit.**

 **I think Shinichi would look adorable in such an over sized jacket.**

 **Also, dealing with Shinichi's powers - it's more than just ghosts he can see. I'll go into a better explanation of everything he can see/has to deal with in another chapter.**

 **As always, thank you all for the reviews, and let me know what you thought~!**

 **And one more thing - do you all like these quick updates, or would you rather I waited and posted one chapter a week? Part of me feels like I'm posting the chapters too fast, but at the same time I don't want to make you wait. So let me know what you're prefer please~**


	12. The Festival

**So, here's the next chapter. Also, for those who reviewed and said if I needed more time to take it - I already have the next 4 chapters written and waiting to be posted. I was just asking. I can't seem to write long chapters, so I'm able to update faster (I tend to unconsciously end chapters at around the 2,000 word or 3,000 word mark).**

 **And daily chapters won by a landslide~ So long as I have time to write and the motivation to do so, I'll try to keep on top of this story. If I run out of chapters to post, I'll put an authors note saying so.**

 **As a side note, my mind is really fucked up right now and I can't remember when I updated this story or even what day it is without checking my phone. There's apparently a magical thing called sleep. I'll let you know if I ever find it.**

* * *

Shinichi didn't want to admit it, but he'd been having fun. After lunch, they'd just decided to walk around the island and visit some of the old battlegrounds or just enjoy the scenery. Kaito had attempted to make up stories to go along with each place they visited. Saguru, having gotten better at watching what he said around the blue eyed teen, had started backing him up when he teased the other two.

As the day went on, Shinichi found it easier to relax. He still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to completely let his guard down around them, but maybe they could be like Ran and Sonoko – not knowing everything, but still his friends.

"And now for the reason I brought you all to Tokashiki island!" Kaito spread his arms out with a wide smile before spinning and pointing dramatically towards the direction multiple people were gathering. "Tokashiki's annual festival!"

Shinichi's stomach dropped. He hated festivals. There were always too many people, crowing and pushing and shoving, kids running around screaming, running into him, and smearing their sticky hands and fingers everywhere. While the blue eyed teen normally didn't mind children, when it came to festivals or amusement parks he'd rather not have to deal with them. And that was just the live crowd. Ghosts were everywhere as well.

Unfortunately, Kaito grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the growing crowd. He kept his gaze lowered, letting the magician lead. "What do you want to do first?" Shinichi wanted to say leave, but the other three seemed really excited about the festival. Instead he just shrugged slightly, keeping closer to them while attempting to avoid everyone else.

"Food!" The Osakan declared. "I'm gonna get some food." Saguru rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

Kaito raised his hand that wasn't gripping onto Shinichi's. "I want some candy floss! And a candy apple!" He smiled at the blue eyed teen. "Do you want anything Shin-chan?" He just shook his head. With the way his stomach was churning, he didn't think he'd be able to eat.

The dark skinned teenager nodded and said he'd meet up with them later after he'd gotten the food, leaving the other three and vanishing in the crowd. Saguru looked around and pointed towards the stall nearby. "Since we're here, why not try that game?"

Shinichi looked at the game. It was the ring toss game where if you got the ring around the prize, you'd get said prize. Kaito grinned and pulled him over, letting go of his hand as he laid some coins on the wooden surface. The blond stood on the magician's other side and laid down his own coins. Shinichi stayed out of the way and attempted to become one with the stall as he was left to deal with the press of the crowd by himself.

He didn't pay attention to the two playing the game – more focused on the failing task of trying to keep people from touching him. Closing his eyes, he wondered if he could last for the entire festival. They'd barely been there for five minutes and he was already ready to leave. He jerked back slightly when something touched his cheek, opening his eyes and staring down at the candy apple in front of his face.

Blinking, he looked up and found Heiji standing nearby, arms loaded with food and candy. "I know ya said ya didn't want anything," He said, "But I got ya somethin' anyway." Shinichi slowly took the offered treat and ate a small bite. The Osakan chuckled and leaned up against the stall to watch their other two friends compete to see who could win something first. "Ya look like a little kid right now." The blue eyed teen ignored him and took another bite. "Is it good?"

Shinichi nodded slightly. He hadn't had a candy apple in a long time. If he remembered correctly, the last time he'd had one had been at the last festival he'd gone to back in elementary school. It was only after his third bite of the sweet treat that he realized people weren't bumping into him anymore. Looking up again, he saw that when Heiji had leaned against the stall, he'd casually created a small barrier between him and the rest of the people.

"Thank you." His words were quiet, and Shinichi wasn't sure the dark skinned teen had heard him over the crowd.

He was surprised for the second time when the Osakan glanced down at him with a small smile. "If ya don't like somethin', ya gotta say so. Otherwise dat idiot will do whatever he wants." Shinichi nodded again before turning his gaze to the ground once more, continuing to munch on his treat. The blue eyed teen paused with his treat near his mouth when his hood was suddenly lifted.

He looked up once more and blinked when he found Saguru and Kaito had rejoined them. The magician had his phone out and snapped a photo, causing Shinichi to glare at him and smack Heiji's hand away from his hood, pulling it back down. He ignored the other threes laughter and took a large bite out of his treat.

The magician turned to the Osakan and held out his hands. Heiji handed him a large candy floss. "Where's my candy apple?" The indigo eyed teen asked.

The dark skinned teen grinned and jabbed his thumb towards Shinichi. "I gave it ta him." Kaito looked horrified, causing Heiji to laugh. "Ya don't need any more sugar."

"Shin-chan~" Kaito whined, "Can I have a bite?" Shinichi simply turned his back to the whining teen and took another bite.

"Did ya let Hakuba win?" The Osakan caught sight of something plush in the blonds' arms.

The magician huffed. "He only won because my ring hit his."

Saguru rolled his eyes with a snort and held the plush out to Shinichi. "Here. An apology for essentially kidnapping you this morning." He shrugged a little. "And earlier this week."

Kaito crossed his arms as best he could while holding his own fluffy treat. "I was gonna give it to Shin-chan," He muttered, take a bite of the pink fluff. Shinichi took the offered plush and smiled slightly. It was a large stuffed soccer ball, nearly as big as he head was.

"Thank you."

"Shin-chan~" Kaito held out a piece of his candy floss. "Say ah~" The blue eyed teen gave the magician a flat stare and kept his mouth shut. "Please? I'm the only one who hasn't given Shin-chan something~"

He opened his mouth to say Kaito had given him the jacket he was wearing, but the magician took the opportunity to shove the pink fluff into his mouth instead. His eyes widened in surprise as it began dissolving in his mouth, unintentionally making a small noise of surprise.

He flushed a little under the three stares. "Kudo-kun…" Saguru said slowly, "Is this your first time eating candy floss?" He turned his head away, his flush growing darker. His parents had only allowed him one sweet treat at the last – which thinking back had been his first – festival, and he'd chosen the candy apple. Even when Ran and Sonoko dragged him to the amusement parks, they tended to get ice cream rather than the fluffy treat. So while he'd seen it multiple times, he'd never actually eaten it before.

Kaito seemed to think of something and asked, "Shin-chan, how many festivals have you been to before?"

The blue eyed teen kept his gaze on the ground as he muttered, "One."

The magician grinned and grabbed his hand – while suitably taking the half eaten candy apple at the same time – and pulled him forward slightly. "Then we're going to have to make up for lost time! We'll play every game before it ends! And to start," He eagerly pointed towards their left and across the crowd, "The classic yo-yo tsuri!"

Shinichi wasn't excited to have to go back into the crowd, but Kaito was already pulling him forward. He looked up as two hands landed on either of his shoulders and found Heiji on one side of him and Saguru on the other. He smiled slightly as he realized they were using their bodies to shield him from the crowd while they made their way through it.

Coming to a stop in front of the stall that held a bunch of water balloons in a small pool, Kaito quickly paid for the four of them. He handed Shinichi one of the strings with a hook and quickly showed him how it was done – easily scooping up one of the balloons. The blue eyed teen couldn't bring himself to say he'd played the game before. Shaking his head slightly, he carefully hooked the small rubber band tied to the water balloon and started to lift it up.

He blinked in surprise when the band broke and the balloon splashed back into the water. The magician chuckled and handed over the yo-yo water balloon he'd won. "You can have mine Shin-chan." The blue eyed teen took the offered prize with a small smile, watching as Heiji pulled too hard and snapped the band as well while Saguru managed to pull his own out.

By the time the four were ready to leave the festival, Shinichi's stomach hurt from all the different types of sweets he'd been made to try while his arms were loaded with prizes either won himself or given to him by the other three.

With the three keeping the crowd from bumping into him or invading his space, and with Kaito continuously drawing his attention somewhere else, Shinichi found that he'd actually had a good time, and for the first time in a long time hadn't even noticed the ghosts or dark shadows.

They'd opted to watch the fireworks from somewhere near their inn after they dropped all their things off and were currently on their way to do just that. Shinichi was trailing slightly behind the others, rather exhausted from the full day. Movement to his right caused him to glance over and frown. The man he'd seen from the beach was headed towards the small patch of trees, the shadow from earlier darker than before.

He bit the inside of his cheek as his gut clenched. He had no idea someone was waiting to kill him.

The blue eyed teen didn't realize he'd stopped walking until the others called his name. "Somethin' wrong?" Heiji asked, following his gaze to the stumbling man.

Shinichi clutched his armful a little tighter and looked towards the ground. "Feeling," He muttered, barely loud enough for the others to hear. "Bad feeling." That put the other three on their guard, remembering the last time he'd told them about his _bad feelings_.

Kaito put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Hattori and I will make sure he gets somewhere safe tonight. You go to the inn with Hakuba." Before he could say anything, the two were off, trailing the drunken man as he headed deeper into the trees.

Saguru put his hand on Shinichi's back and gently pushed him forward. "Come on. Those two will make sure nothing happens." The blue eyed teen kept his gaze on the ground as he reluctantly started walking again. He hoped they didn't get hurt because of this. The blond seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled slightly. "Don't worry. They'll look after each other. Neither will get hurt, and they won't let that man get hurt either."

There was nothing Shinichi could do but nod and hope the other teen was right.

* * *

Kaito sighed as he opened the door to their room for the night. Shinichi's bad feeling had proven to be right. He and Heiji had shadowed the drunk fairly easily as he met up with someone in the small patch of woods he'd wandered into. When the drunk had turned his back, Kaito had seen the flash of steel and quickly thrown a nearby rock at the attacker. It hadn't hit, but had distracted them enough for Heiji to tackle them and wrestle the knife from their grasp.

They'd used the rope Kaito had been planning on using earlier to tie the attacker up before dragging both him and the confused drunk to the police where they'd had to stay for questioning for the next half hour. Because of that, they'd missed the fireworks.

Making his way inside, he gratefully fell onto the nearest bed. He ignored Saguru's surprised grunt as he was rudely awakened by the magician falling on top of him. "Kuroba," He sighed tiredly. "You two took a while."

"Shin-chan's bad feeling was spot on," He explained. "Someone tried to kill the drunken man, so we stopped him and then had to haul them both over to the police. After that we were questioned for nearly half an hour before they finally let us go." He sighed heavily. "I'm tired~"

Heiji's chuckle caused him to sit up and look over to the other bed where Shinichi was sleeping. He hadn't taken off the jacket or even gotten under the covers and was curled up while lightly holding the soccer ball plush Saguru had given him. "He's really like a child," The Osakan commented.

Saguru yawned and smiled a little. "He was worried about you two and tried to stay up until you got back, but we were both exhausted and wound up falling asleep."

The dark skinned teenager happily snapped a few photos with mutterings of finally having blackmail before carefully maneuvering the sleeping teen under the blankets. Kaito stretched and stood up, but before he could make his way over to Shinichi's bed the blond pulled him back down. "Hattori will share with Kudo-kun."

"Eh~? But I wanna sleep with Shin-chan~"

"I don't care. I don't want him to wake up and claim we allowed you to molest him in his sleep or something." Heiji choked out a laugh before yawning.

"Just get some sleep Kuroba. We're leaving in da morning."

* * *

 **Shinichi's so cute~**

 **Anyway, if you feel like Shinichi's personality is different here than normal, let me remind you that he's been tossed out of his comfort zone and done things he normally wouldn't do all day. Not to mention he's still having a mental war about how much to let the three in and whether or not he should be trying to push them away. He's finally having some fun - which he's believed he couldn't have because he thinks he's cursed with not only being able to see death but also with people dying around him a lot. So he doesn't ever really let himself relax or have fun while out and about, meaning this is essentially a new experience for him.**

 **Also, Kaito's enjoying the way he's been able to make Shinichi blush - and is basically ecstatic that he's discovered a new 'cute' side to the normally extremely anti-social teen.**

 **For his way of sleeping - I remember reading somewhere that people who sleep more curled into a ball feel safer like that? Or something like that anyway. And as to why he's sleeping with the plush - it's the first time someone's given him something that they've won. (Ran gives them to Sonoko and vice versa and his dad doesn't tend to play games like that while his mother happily keeps them to herself). So he's unconsciously keeping it close because it made him happy.**

 **And I didn't ignore Heiji seeing ghosts when carrying Shinichi, but I have 4 reasons for not including it.**

 **1) Heiji is a nice person and would have still tried to keep his hands from touching Shinichi's bare legs - so while carrying him he held a little higher where the shorts were (and Kaito wears long shorts, so they would reach to at least Shinichi's knees, so Heiji didn't actually touch him much)**

 **2) They walked to the bus, then to the ferry, and then the beach, so most of the time Shinichi was sitting in a seat next to them rather than being carried the entire way**

 **3) Heiji wouldn't have known they were ghosts he was seeing unless they passed through objects or people. He doesn't believe in ghosts, and would have been more worried about following Kaito to their destination and making sure he didn't drop Shinichi than noticing the slightly floating people.**

 **4) There aren't _always_ ghosts around. But I'll explain why ghosts hang around in another chapter.**

 **So, even though Heiji carried Shinichi, he was still trying to be nice about Shinichi's not liking to be touched, and he wouldn't have noticed ghosts because he doesn't believe in them would have just assumed they were ordinary people.**

 **Heiji finally gets blackmail material (but will he ever use it?) as revenge for the way Shinichi keeps twisting his words and getting him flustered. Kaito is denied the right to sleep in the same bed as Shinichi - will Hakuba and/or Heiji be punished for it? (I'm not exactly sure)**

 **Anyway, this chapter definitely turned out differently than I expected. Honestly, I was more expecting to make it at least a partial reveal, but the only thing that really happened was some bonding and another appearance of Shinichi's _bad feelings_ from chapter 1. I have now lost my idea for the reveal of powers, but worry not. I will eventually think of _something_.**

 **On another note, this story is already a lot longer than I originally expected it to be. You all will tell me if I'm getting away from my main plot, right? I feel like it's getting further and further away and I don't want to rush it and _HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT A GOOD IDEA FOR THE WHOLE REVEL THING NEVER MIND I THINK I CAN DO THIS!_**

 **Let me know what you thought~**

 _ **CHAPTERS LEFT: 4**_


	13. The Question

**Lucky number 13~**

* * *

Shinichi found it very telling that he was getting used to being woken up in different ways and/or different places. This morning he was woken by the sounds of people talking and the feeling of moving up and down slightly. He groaned softly and tried to bury his head in his pillow.

"Shin-chan, that tickles!" It took a few moments for his sleep muddled brain to process the words. Lifting his head slightly, he blinked and peered blearily at what he thought was his pillow. He was met with the sight of dark hair and lightly tanned skin. Blinking a few more times, he looked past his not-pillow and blinked sleepily at the smiling faces of Heiji and Saguru.

The blond chuckled lightly and held out a drink of some kind, placing the straw near Shinichi's lips. Staring at it for a few moments, the blue eyed teen leaned forward and took a sip, humming a bit at the taste of iced coffee. He'd rather it have been hot and less sweet, but coffee was coffee.

"Shin-chan's not good with mornings." It was only after the caffeine started to force his brain into waking up that he realized his not-pillow was Kaito's shoulder and he was currently being piggybacked through town. He was still in his clothes from the previous day, and his hood had been pulled over his head to keep the sun from shining in his eyes.

The magician chuckled. "You looked so cute sleeping that we didn't want to wake you. And the inn we were staying at didn't have coffee available, so we had to pick some up on the way." He adjusted his grip on Shinichi's legs and started moving again. "We're almost back at the villa, so you can thank us for letting you sleep by making us an early lunch!"

Shinichi would have complained about being carried, but he hadn't had near enough coffee to wake him up yet and didn't feel like walking the last bit. Not to mention Kaito was actually taking care to keep his hands from accidently brushing his legs and made sure he was gripping the shorts instead. It was nice to know the other teen was being considerate of his dislike of touch even when he'd been asleep.

Saguru handed him the iced coffee and Shinichi lazily sucked the rest of it down. He'd have to make some regular coffee when they got back. Iced just wasn't strong enough for him. As the Kuroba's villa came back into view, the magician spoke up once again. "Yukiko-san called while you were asleep. She was worried because you weren't picking up, and I told her I'd tell you to call her back when you woke up."

He hummed slightly and yawned. "Never left me alone for this long."

"That's a surprise," Saguru spoke up, "Considering how independent you and your parents seem."

"Mm," Shinichi closed his eyes and rested his cheek on Kaito's shoulder, absently making sure his hood was underneath his cheek. He was still tired. "She worries. Afraid if she leaves I'll be gone. Tried before." His words felt jumbled in his mouth, and he wasn't even sure if they were coming out as actual words or gibberish. He needed more caffeine before conversations.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he drifted to sleep again, but when he opened his eyes again he was back in his bed in the Kuroba's villa. Glancing at the clock, he found it was late afternoon, meaning he'd been asleep for a few hours. Rubbing his eyes, he grabbed his phone off the charger and checked his messages.

He had over twenty missed calls from his mother, and a multiple texts asking if he was having fun, sleeping still, and why he wasn't answering his phone. There were also some from his father, telling him to call his mother so she'd stop worrying and checking to make sure he was alright.

Sitting up, he glanced at the soccer ball plush that had been set on the nightstand and smiled a little. Scooting back so he was leaning against the headboard, he grabbed the plush and dialed his mother. If he waited any longer, she might decide to get on the next flight over.

She picked up halfway through the first ring. _"Shin-chan?"_

"Were you trying to blow up my phone?"

He grinned softly at the pout he could hear in her voice. _"You didn't answer and I was getting worried. I miss my baby boy. How have things been? Are you having fun?"_

Shinichi thought back to yesterday and hugged the soft soccer ball. "Mm. A little." He felt bad at the relieved sigh. He hadn't meant to make her worry. "Hattori-kun stepped on my glasses and broke them. Could you ask professor Agasa if he has a spare?" The recording function that their neighbor had built in had come in handy. He was sure his mother would adore the video of Saguru all dressed up.

Yukiko chuckled. _"Kai-chan told us when I called him earlier. Professor Agasa said he could have a new pair ready by the time we leave. Do you think you can hold out a few more days?"_

"Mm. Kuroba-kun said they'd get me a replacement, so I can use those until you get here."

 _"Kai-chan also said you all went to a festival last night? Were you alright without them?"_

"Ah. I just kept my eyes on the ground."

 _"Kai-chan made it seem like you all had a good day yesterday."_

Shinichi closed his eyes and hugged his plush a little tighter. "It was different." He'd always tried his hardest to stay inside and do nothing but read, so being outside all day without even touching a book was much different than what he had grown used to. It was out of his comfort zone, and not something he would have chosen to do willingly. "But it wasn't bad."

 _"I'm glad that you're having a good time, but I still miss my Shin-chan."_ The teenager shook his head. _"Kai-chan told me he'd have you call when you woke up, have you been asleep this whole time?"_

"I think I woke up a little earlier, but I fell back asleep and nobody came to wake me up."

 _"I wish they had. Now you're going to be up all night."_

"Mm Probably." Shinichi stretched and grimaced. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you in a few days."

Yukiko whined, _"But we've **barely** talked."_ Heaving a large, overdramatic sigh, the retired actress reluctantly agreed. _"I'll see you in a few days. I love you Shin-chan."_

"Mm. Bye kaa-san." He paused for a second before muttering, "I love you too." He hung up before his mother could say anything, knowing if he didn't then he'd be stuck on the phone for another few hours.

Setting his plush on the bed as he stood, Shinichi pulled out some fresh clothes and made his way to the bathroom. He didn't hear anything from the other rooms, so he assumed the others were either downstairs or had gone out somewhere.

Taking a nice and long, hot shower he changed into his clean clothes and brushed his teeth before tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper he'd claimed as his. Kaito had the one next to it as they shared the bathroom. The magician had claimed that they could all more easily keep their clothes separate this way for when they wanted to wash them – or just toss them back into their bags to be washed later at home.

Heading back to his room, Shinichi put his earplugs back in and was about to grab his gloves when he paused and glanced at the large white jacket that had been draped across the back of his desk chair. Glancing between the two for a few seconds, the teenager finally snatched the jacket up and put it on again.

He pulled the hood over his head and zipped it up before making his way downstairs. If the others questioned it, he could always claim that he liked it because of the hood and that he hadn't felt like wearing gloves that day. Even if they didn't buy it, that was what he would stick to. He'd never, ever, admit to liking it because it reminded him of how he'd had fun yesterday, and how he'd felt safe with the three blocking him from the crowd.

Shinichi paused at the bottom of the steps. He could see Heiji's head from where he was standing, and the Osakan was snoring away. Creeping closer, he found Kaito was sprawled out on the couch, muttering something in his sleep and occasionally raising either a hand or a foot. Saguru was on the opposite recliner from Heiji, his head in his hand and a book resting in his lap. His eyes were shut and breathing even.

The blue eyed teenager shook his head with a small smile and quietly made his way into the kitchen. He eyed the empty ramen containers in the trash and sighed. He hadn't seen any ramen earlier, so they must have gone to the store while he was asleep. Glancing back at the three sleeping, he wondered if he would wake them by making dinner. It was still a little early, but he could at least start.

Taking another quick inventory of the food they had, he nodded to himself and rolled up the sleeves on the jacket as well as on his ling sleeved shirt underneath. Since he had so much time, he could make a variety of dishes. That way they could also have leftovers that simply needed reheated instead of going out for instant ramen should he sleep through lunch again tomorrow.

It would double as his way of saying thank you. It had been the first time he'd been able to enjoy something without worrying about his curse. It was the first time he'd actually forgotten about it and had fun.

It was also a thank you for having believed his _bad feeling_ and not only protecting the man, but also not finding the fact he'd been right about it creepy. Everyone else who had come to find that his _bad feelings_ tended to be right would look at him as though he were the one responsible for it and tell him to stay away. But Kaito, Saguru, and Heiji had accepted it and treated him like normal.

That had been the best part of the day for him.

Smiling a little to himself, Shinichi got to work on his feast.

* * *

"Mmmm," Kaito yawned and stretched. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and glanced around. Saguru was asleep in the recliner to his left, and Heiji was snoring away in the one on his right. Both had blankets placed over them, and looking down he found one lying in his lap as well.

Since all three of them were asleep down here, that probably meant Shinichi had woken up. They hadn't meant to fall asleep like this. After putting Shinichi upstairs, they'd migrated to this main room both to keep from waking him and to talk about what the sleeping teen had let slip while he'd been half awake.

It had sent a pang through the magician's heart to hear his friend essentially admit he'd tried to kill himself at one point. They'd already guessed as much, but it was one thing to guess and another to have it confirmed. When Yukiko had called him again about half an hour after they'd gotten back to the villa, they'd asked for her side of the story.

She'd simply told them that it was in the past and not to worry about it before hanging up.

Standing up, he glanced outside and found the sun was getting ready to set, meaning it had to be getting pretty late. His stomach rumbled as he caught a whiff of something that smelled delicious. Following his nose, he stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes and making sure he wasn't dreaming.

Swallowing, he turned and ran to the other two. "HAKUBA! HATTORI!" The detectives both shot up and looked around before their eyes settled on Kaito who was nearly bouncing up and down in excitement. They sighed in unison and slumped back down.

"Are ya _trying_ ta kill us?" Heiji groaned with a yawn.

The magician ignored the tone and smiled widely. "Come on! You _have_ to see this! It's like heaven!" The two yawned and groaned but stood up to follow their excited friend. When they got to the entrance of the kitchen, their eyes widened and jaws nearly dropped.

"Yer right Kuroba," The Osakan said faintly, licking his lips, "Dis _is_ heaven." Food covered every surface available. The dishes ranged from Japanese, to English, to Chinese, to Italian, and more. And where the dinner ended, desserts began. Kaito felt like crying when he saw the large chocolate cake sitting on the counter. He took a picture and sent it to his parents with the caption _'I've died and gone to heaven.'_ He sent another to Shinichi's parents with the caption, _'I'm going to marry Shin-chan.'_

Saguru's jaw moved up and down without sound before he finally managed a strangled, _"How?"_

"I don't care," Heiji said, finally taking the first step inside. "Itadakimasu!" He picked up a plate and a pair of chopsticks left near the entrance and began piling his plate with a little bit of everything. Kaito wasted no time in doing the same. Shaking his head, Saguru followed their lead and dug in.

It was heaven on earth for the three as they ate their fill. Everything was delicious. The cleanup of it all was a bit of a chore, but since Shinichi had already cleaned the pots and pans he'd used to cook all the food, none of them complained.

"I'm fairly certain he used all the remaining ingredients we had," Saguru said when they were done. He was back in the recliner he'd been sleeping in earlier.

Heiji snorted. "Ya, but now we don't have ta worry 'bout food da rest of da week."

Kaito laughed. "It's probably his way of telling us to stop waking him up to make food." The magician sighed happily. "Do you think he went back to sleep after all that cooking?"

"With how much he slept today," Saguru yawned, "I kind of doubt it."

Heiji shrugged and stretched his arms above his head. "He probably didn't want ta wake us."

The magician glanced outside and smiled. "It's a full moon tonight." At the other two's raised eyebrows he elaborated, "I don't know about you, but after that," He paused and glanced at the clock, "almost eight hours of sleep I'm not very tired. Anyone up for some stargazing?"

Hakuba smiled. "That sounds nice."

The Osakan nodded. "We'll go set out da blankets, you go get da chef."

Kaito was about to run up and do that when he froze. Tilting his head a bit he asked, "Do you hear that?" The other two grew quiet and strained their ears, barely hearing what the magician had heard. The indigo eyed teen walked slowly towards the back door and opened it, the other two following. The sound got clearer as they all stepped onto the back patio.

It was someone playing the violin. The tune was short and simple, repeated multiple times. Each time the tune restarted, there were less and less mistakes and the player seemed to gain in confidence. After the tune was repeated five times without mistakes, the music disappeared.

Saguru tapped the other two on the shoulders and pointed towards the Kudo villa. Standing on one of the balconies was Shinichi, a violin tucked between his shoulder and chin. He was still, with the bow poised just above the strings as though he was about to begin.

A minute later, the music started to flow again. This time it wasn't the same simple tune that they had heard earlier. It was the song _Amazing Grace_. Kaito smiled and took a breath before singing along. Shinichi fumbled in surprise but continued playing. Heiji and Saguru smiled and joined in as well, all three singing in English rather than Japanese.

Kaito pitched his voice to hit the high soprano notes while Saguru sang bass. Heiji rounded them out with his tenor. When the song was over, Shinichi turned and headed back inside while the others once again started setting up for their stargazing. They pulled out multiple blankets and spread them over the grass in the backyard, tossing multiple pillows down as well.

The magician smiled when Shinichi joined them after putting away his violin and locked up his parent's villa. He bit back a laugh when he saw the blue eyed teen was back in the white jacket from the other day and brought out the stuffed soccer ball Saguru had given him at the start of the festival. He found it rather endearing that the other teen liked them so much.

The four settled down, with Heiji on the far left, Kaito next to him, Shinichi next to the magician, and Saguru on the far right. "I didn't know you could play the violin," The blond commented after they were settled.

"I haven't in a long time."

"Pretty good for bein' rusty," The Osakan said lightly.

"Hakuba should join in on the piano next time," Kaito said with a grin, "Since his singing _sucks_."

The blond rolled his eyes and commented dryly, "Not everyone is as talented at altering their vocal cords as you and your father are Kuroba."

"We'll leave da singin' ta you next time," The dark skinned teen said. "I'd rather play da Ryūteki den sing." Seeing the three incredulous looks he got, Heiji flushed. "My kaa-san made me learn!" Kaito laughed while Saguru chuckled.

"We'd be one strange sounding group," The magician said.

The four were quiet for a while as they gazed up at the stars above them. It was peaceful. Surprisingly to the magician, it was Shinichi who broke the silence, his voice no louder than a whisper. "What would you do…if ghosts really existed?"

Kaito wanted to play it off as a joke, but something in the teens' tone made him bite his tongue and really think about it. What would he do, if he found out that ghosts weren't just scary stories to scare kids, but actually existed?

* * *

 **So I wanted to fit in some music somewhere. And _yes_ , this is my idea for introducing his powers. I promise I'll explain his thinking process in the next chapter, since in every other chapter I've basically been saying that Shinichi will never tell a soul about his powers on his own. I _do_ actually have a reason for everything I've been putting into the story.**

 **And for those who think that the cooking was overdone, there's a reason I never described _exactly what food_ was there. I just said enough to cover the surfaces - and part of those were desserts. Yes, I do bake and I do cook. I know how long these things take. But I never said the desserts were decorated. And I never said the dishes were fancy. Simple food can be just as delicious as complex food. Besides, he had from late afternoon (so around 3-4ish) until evening (so around 7ish - yes I looked it up, the sun sets in Okinawa Japan in summer (July to be specific) around 7ish). So that's around 3-4 hours for him to cook everything.**

 **Anyway, we're finally getting to the part where the others learn about Shinichi! Huzzah!**

 **I thought long and hard (not really, just tossed around some ideas and then this suddenly typed itself, but whatever) about it and decided that it would wind up taking forever and be too forced if I tried to write them finding out by accident. Besides, you'll learn why I like this idea in the next chapter.**

 **As for Heiji's choice in instruments, his family is pretty traditional so I looked up some traditional Japanese instruments online. I liked the thought of him playing a flute of some kind, and if I am to believe the translation, the one I choose is also called the 'Dragon Flute' or something like that. I don't know if it's right, but I liked the sound when I looked it up on youtube. I thought it would be a good fit for him.**

 **And I didn't realize until now that I unintentionally had Hakuba agreeing with Kaito that his singing sucked. Whoops. Oh well, I'm too lazy to change it.**

 **Don't forget to let me know what you thought~**

 _ **CHAPTERS LEFT: 3**_


	14. The Answer

Shinichi tightened his grip slightly so his hands wouldn't shake. He could feel his heart beating faster and kept his gaze firmly on the sky above. He was getting too close to the three around him. He was letting them in too far. But he was having trouble pushing them away. He was actually enjoying being around them.

So he had to know. He had to ask. He had no doubt that if they continued to stay his friend, then they would find out. The detectives would notice his little oddities – the way his eyes sometimes followed things that weren't there, his quick glances towards places in the room nobody else was, and the inconsistencies in his speech when he was attempting to talk to both living and ghost at the same time. He didn't doubt Kaito would notice as well – maybe more than the detectives at times.

Shinichi was getting to the point of no return, and he had to know now whether or not to cut them off. He had to know if it would be better for him to shove them out of his life now, so he didn't go through the same hurt he'd already been through so many times.

He'd already established that trying to push them away would be hard – making Kaito cry like that and having the thought that the three wouldn't want anything to do with him had been like a hot knife twisting in his heart. Any longer, and having to cut them out of his life would probably throw him back into that depression he'd been in during the first part of junior high, if not worse.

No, he had to know now if it was safe to let them get any closer than they already had. He had to know if he could take the chance with them, since being who they were it was only a matter of time before they found out.

He took a deep breath and tried to relax, but his muscles were tensed up and refused to cooperate. He was nervous – scared even – to hear their answers. If he couldn't trust them, they'd have to leave. Even if Shinichi had to shove them out and barricade the door.

The blue eyed teenager absently fingered the small charm hanging around his neck as he waited. When he was younger, his parents had taken him to a grand total of twenty-eight different temples by the time he'd turned five in an effort to get rid of his curse. None had worked and they had eventually stopped.

The only thing that had come about from those visits was one elderly priest who had said that while he couldn't get rid of the curse – though the man hadn't called it that. Shinichi couldn't remember the exact term he'd used – he did show Shinichi how to create a charm that would keep spirits around him at bay. To his then five-year-old mind, it had been like a force field that kept the ghosts out.

That had been the last temple they'd visited. The charm had relieved his parents, who told him that ever since he was born he'd have times where he'd suddenly become like a different person. It had terrified them and prompted the visits to the temples.

For whatever reason, ghosts passed through every other person and object except for him. If they came into contact with him, they could possess him whether he wanted them to or not. He'd never been able to expel them – though it may have had more to do with him being five than anything else, and he'd never taken the charm off after he'd gotten it, so he'd never been possessed afterwards – and remembered nothing of the time his body was taken over.

Shinichi had always wondered if that was part of the reason his touch could allow others to see the ghosts, but not the shadows of death. Even other ghosts, from the few times he'd asked, weren't able to see them. It had made him feel even more alone, realizing that even the ghosts didn't have to deal with what he did.

He heard Kaito shifting next to him and glanced over to see the magician was now facing him. The shadows the light of the moon cast over his face made it hard to read his expression. "If ghosts actually existed," He said softly, eyes calmly holding Shinichi's, "Would I have a reason to be afraid?"

The blue eyed teen blinked in slight surprise. In all his life, he'd never seen a ghost be able to hurt someone, no matter how worked up they got. No floating objects, or even the slightest shifting due to their anger. He'd seen more than a few attempt it, to no avail.

Would there be a reason for them to be scared? Shinichi was the only one potentially in danger of being possessed from his experience – even while touching others, ghosts only passed through them as normal. The only thing that ghosts had were their stories – and the blue eyed teen had heard a lot more than he'd wanted to while he'd been in the hospital.

Swallowing slightly, he finally shook his head a little. "No, you wouldn't."

The smile Kaito gave him had his shoulders relaxing unconsciously. "In that case," He said lightly, "I don't think it would make a difference. It wouldn't change anything."

"If dey did," Heiji mused, propping himself up on one elbow, "It'd make detective work easier."

"More like put detectives out of the job," Saguru commented dryly.

The Osakan snorted. "Not if dey didn't see who killed 'em."

Shinichi closed his eyes and curled onto his side, burying his face in his plush with a small smile. He could feel all the tension drain out of his body and wanted to laugh. Kaito's reasoning was so simple, and he made it sound so easy. He supposed that was just like the magician though.

"Shin-chan," He glanced up and instinctively wormed backwards at the grin he was receiving. He only stopped when he backed into Saguru, who had also propped himself up on an elbow in order to argue with Heiji about ghosts. The magician pouted and held his arms out. "I was just gonna ask for a hug."

"Leave him alone Kuroba," The blond replied. His lips twitched into a smile as he glanced down at the teenager still eyeing Kaito warily. "Forgive me Kudo-kun." Shinichi didn't have time to ask before one of Saguru's arms wrapped around his waist and he was suddenly flipped up and around, the blond now between him and the magician.

"That was mean Hakuba~" Kaito whined, sitting up. Heiji just fell back and laughed.

Saguru raised an eyebrow as he let go of Shinichi and rolled back around to face the other two. "I'm beginning to think Kudo-kun has been correct in his worry about you molesting him."

Kaito groaned and flopped onto his back. "Not you too! I just wanted a _hug_! Hugs aren't sexual!"

"Normally," The blond countered, "Yet one has to wonder when they're coming from you. Your hands have a tendency to wander."

The Osakan wiped tears from his eyes. "Did ya just accuse Kuroba of feeling ya up before?"

Saguru sighed. "I have the unfortunate luck of sharing a classroom with him. You could ask any one of them – Kuroba has no sense of shame, and no care for boundaries."

The magician pouted. "I wasn't going to do anything," He grumbled to himself, "Shin-chan just looked so cute I wanted to hug him."

"And that," Saguru stated with a smile, "Is the reason I'm keeping him away from you. Do you realize how creepy you sound?"

"All I said was that he was cute!" Kaito jumped up and pointed towards where Shinichi was lying, wondering why they were even having this conversation. "Look at him!" Saguru rolled back over so he was facing the slightly bewildered teen, and Heiji leveled himself up to peer around the bond. "He's adorable!"

Shinichi blinked at the sudden attention and unconsciously tried to curl in on himself some more. He didn't like being the center of attention. "Doesn't matter if yer right," Heiji said, "Still sounds creepy comin' from you."

The blue eyed teen wasn't used to anyone – except his mother – calling him cute, and now both the dark skinned teen and the magician had done so. He couldn't hold down the small flush working its way onto his face and pulled the blanket over his head. Peering out a bit at the amused blond next to him, he grumbled, "Now you're going to have to protect me from both of them."

Saguru glanced at the two arguing and whispered just so Shinichi could hear, "Then who's going to protect you from me?"

Eyes widening a little and face flushing hotter, Shinichi clutched the blanket tighter and blindly kicked out, hitting the half brit, before turning away. His mother needed to hurry before he was attacked.

* * *

Saguru laughed even as he held his bruising leg. For someone who didn't eat much or venture out often, Shinichi had a fairly strong kick.

"What did you do?" Kaito asked, glancing at the cocooned teenager.

The blond snorted a little and shook his head. "I was just teasing him a little."

Heiji grinned. "Guess he doesn't like it when he's on da receiving end."

Saguru chuckled and laid back down, thinking about Shinichi's question. It would have been all too easy to write it off as a joke, or deny the existence of ghosts, but the way he'd said it and his body language as he waited for their answer had told him that they had to be careful in answering.

The way he'd relaxed after Kaito's answer had proven that if they'd said the wrong thing, he would have closed up once again. The blond wasn't sure they'd be able to get him to open up again if he had. So obviously something about ghosts was important to him. Did he believe they existed? Was that part of the reason he'd been seen as an outcast when he was younger?

Ghosts went against all scientific logic. Yet Shinichi hadn't asked if they believed in ghosts, he'd asked what they would do if spirits actually existed. And his confident answer that there was no reason to be scared of the ghosts hinted towards the blue eyed teen wholeheartedly believing that ghosts were real.

Saguru knew that Shinichi was smart. Ran had let it slip that he was the top of the grade once. It was illogical for him to believe in ghosts. Unless his believing stemmed from the mystery event that had happened between his time in elementary school and junior high. But what could have happened that would make him confident ghosts existed.

Had he seen one? No matter how smart he had been at that age, if he'd seen something he believed to be a ghost, it could have lead him to be convinced they existed.

But the blond was sure that Shinichi's parents would have explained to him that it hadn't been real. And if ghosts had something to do with his alienation in elementary school, it wouldn't have had any connection to what happened later.

He was missing something important. No matter how he thought about it, nothing made sense for why Shinichi was so confident ghosts existed. He couldn't come up with a logical conclusion. Frowning slightly, he glanced at the cocooned teen next to him from the corner of his eyes.

"Kudo-kun," He said quietly, breaking the peaceful silence that had descended upon them. He waited until the other teen rolled to face him and pulled the blanket away enough for one of his eyes to show. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but it's been bothering me." He turned his head to look at the suddenly weary teen. "Who started the rumor that you were cursed back in elementary school?"

He doubted that person would remember why they'd started it, but maybe it would give them some insight into why things took a turn for the worse. Shinichi stared at him for a while before pulling the blanket down further. "I did."

Saguru paused. That…was not what he had been expecting. From the way the two behind him shifted and came closer, neither of them had either. "Why would you do that?" Kaito asked gently.

The blue eyed teen shrugged his shoulders and wouldn't meet their eyes. "'Cause it's true."

The blond frowned. Shinichi obviously believed it. He glanced back at the other two who were frowning as well. Yet another mystery about their quiet friend. Ran had told them the rumor had been going around since the start of elementary school, meaning Shinichi had believed he was cursed in some way since then.

Had something happened to make him believe that, or had he always believed it? If that was true, then did his question about ghosts even apply to the situation that had happened back in elementary school?

Kaito broke him out of his thoughts as he suddenly appeared on the other side of Shinichi. "I don't think you're cursed," He said, pulling the teen backwards and wrapping him in a hug while ignoring the blue eyed teens' struggling and asking to be let go. "But cursed or not, I like you just the way you are."

Leave it to the magician to know what to say. Shinichi stopped struggling and pulled the blanket up enough to cover his nose and mouth while closing his eyes. Saguru smiled and reached out to gently flick his forehead. "Same here."

Heiji grinned and nodded. "Me too."

Saguru could tell that their words meant a lot to the blue eyed teen even though he didn't say anything. It made him upset to know that Shinichi thought he was cursed, but even more so that that was the reason he was alone. The blond was willing to bet that more than a few people had hurt him because of this so called 'curse' he had.

Ran hadn't seemed to know anything about the 'curse', so if Saguru wanted answers he'd have to go to the only people who were sure to know. Maybe the Kudo couple could provide the missing pieces of the puzzle.

* * *

 **Hakuba is on the wrong track, but he'll get there eventually! The three have learned a new piece of information about Shinichi - he started the rumor himself!**

 **I wrote this chapter twice before I was happy with it. Hopefully I got across why I had Shinichi ask them about the ghosts well enough. And I _had_ to add in Hakuba teasing Shinichi. It was too good to pass up. But more bonding between them! And Kaito finally got the hug he wanted (kinda).**

 **I do want to clear something up about Shinichi and how he's been acting. In this story, though I haven't said what happened yet, Shinichi's been through some pretty bad stuff at a relatively young age. Due to this, even with visits to a therapist (because _anyone_ would go to the therapist after what he'd been through) he started that habit of pushing everyone away and essentially locking part of himself away for protection. Due to this, and how he'd stayed mostly inside and rarely ventured outside, I believe that at least on an emotional level he's a few years behind. That is why I am writing him like I have been for these past few chapters - he's going through a lot more emotions than he's been used to and he's unsure how to deal with them. He's also been put into new situations that he's not used to or comfortable with, and needs something to steady him. To me, that's what the jacket Kaito got him and the plush soccer ball Hakuba gave him represent. They're like a comforting presence, but they also are a reminder that the events from that day actually happened and he didn't dream them. They're a reminder that the three around him _do_ care about him on some level.**

 **I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it does to me. So there's my reasoning for writing him like I have been.**

 **Days passed since arrival: 4 (I'm not going to lie, I've already forgotten and am too lazy to go back and check. Let me know if I miscounted)**

 **Days until parents arrive: 2**

 **So they've been in Okinawa for around 4 days and so far the only things they've done are clean and Tokashiki island. I'm probably going to wind up just skipping to when the parents arrive so the three can talk to Yukiko and Yusaku because I'm basically out of ideas -_-; I'm bad at writing vacations because I only go out for class or to shop for food. I'm a rather uninteresting person on my own.**

 **At least we're advancing with the story a bit! Let me know what you thought!**

 _ **CHAPTERS LEFT: 2**_


	15. The Parents

Kaito smiled as he greeted his parents. He was fairly used to them leaving him on his own when they traveled for his fathers' magic shows, but he had to admit things were pretty fun when they were around. "Where's Shin-chan?" Yukiko pouted, not seeing the blue eyed teen.

Saguru shrugged slightly. "Sleeping. He was up all night reading the newest _Detective Conan_ novel that he picked up yesterday." The magician held in a snicker. What the blond hadn't said was that they'd been the ones who'd picked it up and gave it to him after dinner precisely so he'd be up all night reading and sleep in even later than normal. They wanted a chance to talk to his parents alone, and weren't sure they would get the chance later.

Yusaku sighed while shaking his head and Yukiko huffed, grumbling something about confiscating all the books and lecturing over the importance of sleeping at night. Kaito smiled innocently at the look his father gave him.

Glancing at the other two, the magician rolled his eyes at their expectant looks. Why was _he_ the one who had to do the talking? "Yukiko-san," He said, once they'd all taken a seat in the main room to relax from their flight, "Do you think Shin-chan's cursed?"

"What makes you ask that?" The retired actress smiled, reminding the magician that she could be impossible to read when she wanted to be. Unfortunately for them, this was one of those times. It didn't work attempting to read Yusaku either, since the elder Kudo male had a poker face that rivaled Toichi's.

"Ran-chan told us there was a rumor he was cursed back in elementary school, and when we asked Shin-chan about it, he said he was the one who started it." Kaito couldn't tell if the slight surprise was real or not. "So I was wondering if you thought he was cursed, or if it's just him who thinks that."

"Did you know the police have a nickname for Shinichi?" Yusaku cut in. "They call him the Shinigami because of the amount of murders that happen when he's around."

Yukiko sighed tiredly. "They even tried to arrest him for it once when he was ten. They said he had to be involved somehow because it wasn't natural." Kaito winched. That had to be hard for a ten-year-old, to have an officer try and arrest him just for having bad luck.

Heiji and Saguru's father's both nodded. "I remember that," Heizo said, crossing his arms. "That idiot handcuffed him and carted him off to headquarters next to the actual culprit."

Saguru's father frowned. "I'd never seen Superintendent Matsumoto so angry before. If I recall correctly, that officer was fired on the spot."

Yusaku nodded. "Not only him, but almost everyone else in division one lectured him on potentially traumatizing a child like that. The man was near tears by the time he left. He moved out of the country soon after that." Kaito gulped slightly at the smiled the Kudo couple were wearing and figured he didn't want to know.

He was horrified to hear that Shinichi had gone through that at such a young age. Who in their right mind would _handcuff a child_ and _force him to ride next to a murderer_ just because he was nearby when people got killed? Whoever it was that had put his friend through that was lucky they were no longer in Japan.

Heizo shook his head. "Even the culprit was yelling at the officer about it."

"Poor Shin-chan," Kaito said, "How did he handle it?"

Yukiko laughed. "He was fine. He actually stated everything that was flawed about why he was being arrested, pointed out how there was no evidence, and even started reciting different laws and policies that the officer was ignoring by arresting him like he did."

Yusaku's lips twitched. "After that incident Superintendent Matsumoto began requiring every new officer, no matter what division, to be handed a flier with Shinichi's photo with an explanation about how he ran into a lot of crime scenes and to expect to see him but that he wasn't involved."

The younger magician snorted, imagining a small Shinichi sitting in the back of a police car in handcuffs and lecturing the officer up front on how to do his job properly.

It was only after imagining the small Shinichi that he realized they had gotten off topic. Neither Kudo had even answered his question. Looking over, Heiji was questioning his father on why the older Hattori hadn't stopped it if he'd been there – apparently there was some big meeting at headquarters and he and Saguru's father had been there when the officer had dragged Shinichi in rather than at the crime scene – and Saguru was frowning slightly to himself.

Catching the blond's eye, he raised an eyebrow. Nodding, Saguru cleared his throat slightly and asked, "Kudo-san, has Kudo-kun always believed in ghosts?" Kaito blinked as all the adults looked at each other. So whatever this mystery was, they all knew about it. Interesting.

"What makes you think he believes in ghosts?" Yusaku asked, not answering the question. The younger Kuroba was starting to see where Shinichi had gotten his skill with words from. Both Kudo's were directing the conversation and getting more information out of the three of them then they were out of the couple.

"A few nights ago," Heiji spoke up, "He asked us what we'd do if ghosts actually existed. Seemed pretty confident dat they did." Kaito was _sure_ the surprise he saw flicker across the elder Kudo's faces was genuine. That meant Shinichi normally didn't say or ask anything about ghosts to people. The younger magician couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. So Shinichi was starting to open up to them more than he did anyone else.

Unfortunately, they didn't get an answer. "I'm sure Shinichi will tell you if he wants you to know." Kaito pouted but didn't say anything. He knew he wasn't going to get an answer if he pushed it, and he didn't want to be scolded by his parents for being rude.

Instead, he switched topics. "Do you want me to get Shin-chan up for lunch?"

Yukiko shook her head. "Let him sleep for a little bit longer. I want to see some photos first!"

Grinning, Kaito pulled out his phone and pulled up the album he'd labeled _'Shin-chan in Okinawa_ ' before moving to sit next to the former actress and letting her see his screen. The first few photos were of him asleep in the airport and then on the plane on their way to Okinawa.

After that was one of him headed towards the Kudo villa before Kaito had stopped him, and then some pictures of him cleaning. "I told him he only had to clean the surfaces," He explained as he showed a photo with the entire kitchen covered in clean cookware.

The older woman nodded happily. "I taught him well."

Yusaku raised an eyebrow. "I believe you mean Ran-kun taught him well?" He smiled at her pout.

Kaito grinned and said, "Even with all that he _still_ finished before Hattori or Hakuba." The two grumbled and glared at the magician. After that was one of the blue eyed teen making curry. He scrolled over and laughed at the picture he'd taken of a sleepy Shinichi in the entrance to the kitchen on their second day, and flipped to the next one where he was turning to head back upstairs. "Shin-chan took one look at our attempt at cooking and went back to bed."

"I don't blame him," Chikage chuckled, earning a small glare from her son.

"You should learn from Shinichi-kun's example and take some lessons Heiji," Shizuna laughed, teasing her son. Saguru's father simply smiled at his son's pointed glare.

Kaito flipped through a few more photos, some of Shinichi doing small tasks and multiple of him sleeping. The magician ignored Saguru and Heiji when they muttered something about stalker tendencies. "These are some of my favorites," He said, getting to the ones from Tokashiki island.

Yukiko squealed at the photos of Shinichi in the large jacket, cooing over how adorable he was in it. He recounted everything they did that day – with some inputs or corrections from the other two teens – and finally made it to the festival. He'd taken some videos as well as photos, and happily shared them with the Kudo couple.

"Aww~" Yukiko smiled at the photo of Heiji lifting Shinichi's hood. His blue eyes were wide in surprise and confusion, with the plush soccer ball clutched in his right arm and the candy apple up near his lips in his left hand. The photo made him look younger with the way the sleeves draped over his hands and his eyes wide open.

Grinning happily, he said, "Hakuba gave Shin-chan the plush, and he's been sleeping with it and that jacket every night~" Yusaku smiled as Yukiko laughed in delight. He swiped to the next image and hit play on the video.

 _'Shin-chan, say ah~'_ A pause with Shinichi's flat stare towards the camera, _'Please? I'm the only one who hasn't given Shin-chan something~'_ The blue eyed teen opened his mouth to respond and Kaito's hand came into view, stuffing some candy floss into his mouth. A startled look crosses his face and he makes a surprised sound before his cheeks flushed red and he turned away, ending the video.

"I _know_ your phone wasn't anywhere near your hands," Saguru grumbled.

"Magic~" The blond sighed heavily.

He continued through the festival, showing the pictures and videos as they had Shinichi play nearly every game – because Kaito made sure they stayed far away from the goldfish scooping. There were some photos of them handing their prizes to the blue eyed teen and one near the end of the festival where his arms were loaded with prizes.

"It looks like you all had fun," The former actress commented, smiling softly.

"It was a bit of a rough start in the morning," The younger magician admitted, "But it turned out to be a great day." He flipped through some more – with multiple selfies of piggybacking a sleeping Shinichi – before getting to the photo he'd sent his mother and Yukiko. "We thought we were in heaven. Everything was so good~"

Yusaku grinned. "I suppose that was his way of thanking you."

Kaito nodded and moved on to where they'd gone outside. "We were surprised to learn he played the violin."

Yukiko looked up in surprise. "He played for you?"

Heiji snorted. "More like we surprised 'im."

Saguru elaborated, "He didn't know we were listening at first."

The younger Kuroba played the audio recording he'd made of Shinichi's _Amazing Grace_ with the other three teens singing along. When it ended, Yukiko had tears in her eyes. "He hasn't played in so long," She said, sniffing. She motioned Kaito to continue with his pictures.

"We decided to do some stargazing since we'd all slept the day away." He smiled at the picture of Shinichi curled on his side, clutching his plush soccer ball and only his eyes peeking out above it. After those came some pictures of their movie marathon they'd had the next day. Shinichi had claimed the recliner that Saguru had been sleeping in the day they'd gotten back from Tokashiki island. He was once again in the white jacket and had his soccer ball plush with him, but was also cocooned in a blanket and scowling – though Kaito called it a cute pout – while throwing popcorn at Heiji.

The next picture showed Saguru simply dumping the entire popcorn bowl over the Osakan's head. "All I said was I didn't care for da older Sherlock movies," The dark skinned teen muttered.

"They're classics," Saguru said.

" _Dey don't have sound_."

"So?"

"We are not starting this argument _again_!" Kaito interrupted, moving along. He grinned as he got to one where Shinichi was positively livid as he glared at a cowering Heiji while holding an empty bag of coffee beans. The Osakan had accidently dropped them all and tossed the beans, leaving them without coffee yesterday. Needless to say Shinichi hadn't been happy. Heiji shivered at the reminder.

"And now we're here." He put his phone back into his pocket after glancing at the clock. He put a hand on his stomach as it growled. "I think it's time for lunch! We already finished off the food Shin-chan made for us, so…" He glanced pleadingly at his mother.

"Are there even any of the groceries we bought left?" Chikage asked.

"Uh…" Kaito wasn't sure. Saguru shook his head though. "No."

Toichi stood up and stretched. "I suppose I'll go out and pick something up."

Yusaku stood as well. "I'd better come with you. You always seem to forget to pick up something with no meat."

The elder magician smiled and the two headed towards the door. The author nodded to Kaito with a smile as he passed, and his father gave him a pleased grin. Yukiko hugged him and said, "Make sure you send me all the photos later!" She leaned down next to his ear and whispered, "Thank you for looking after Shin-chan."

Bouncing up, she headed towards the stairs. "I'll go get Shin-chan up! Kai-chan, can you start the coffee please?" Kaito nodded and headed towards the kitchen. After they'd run out of coffee the other day, Shinichi had all but kicked Heiji out and forced him to go buy some more, threatening murder if he didn't hurry. Saguru hadn't said anything in fear of the blue eyed teens' glare moving onto him and Kaito had been too busy laughing.

* * *

 **So here's my way of catching the parents up with what's happened, as well as a refresher for me to make sure I remember everything. Also, for the part where Shinichi got arrested, I read another fanfiction where they had an officer try to arrest a nine year old Shinichi because so many murders happened around him. I think they were at the art museum with Ran, and another little boy pointed towards Shinichi and said he was the killer because the boy had seen him around other crime scenes before. If you're interested, it's called _'The Reason He Became A Detective'_ by Crack-jouchan**

 **And _yes_ , I had the book titled _Detective Conan_. Everyone always uses _Detective Samonji_ or however you spell it, and I couldn't think of a new title, so I just went with it.**

 **I'm not a big fan of how I wrote this chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else. So, since that's the case, I present you with another omake to make up for nothing happening in this chapter!**

"Do you have any pictures to share Shin-chan?" Yukiko asked her son after she'd dragged him from his bed and he'd had his mandatory two cups of morning coffee.

Shinichi nodded. "On my computer." Kaito was the one who got up to fetch the electronic device, and under the blue eyed teens' orders hooked it up to the television so they could all see them better. Shinichi hid a smile in his coffee mug as he played the video he'd pulled up.

It started with a view of the stairs, moving up and down as he made his way down them. Saguru blanched and let his head slam onto the coffee table as the scene changed to the kitchen where the blond was all dolled up thanks to Kaito. Heiji and the magician cracked up at seeing it, while the other adults smiled or laughed. Yukiko commented both on how cute Saguru looked and what a good job Kaito had done.

"I know we taught you better than that," Chikage scolded when the video showed the magician flipping Saguru's skirt to reveal white panties with a light blue bow at the top. The blond in question began banging his head on the table before him, his blush rapidly spreading down the back of his neck.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the two laughing teens. "I was afraid you two might try to jump Hakuba-kun," He stated lightly, causing them both to begin choking on air, "After all, you two were staring at his underwear quite intently."

"Aw~" Chikage teased her blushing and spluttering son, "I didn't know you had a crush on Saguru-kun~" Kaito seemed to pale while flushing at the same time, making for quite an interesting color.

Shizuna, on the other hand, crossed her arms and frowned at her son. "Heiji, are you cheating on Kazuha-chan?" The dark skinned teen looked like he didn't know whether to be sick or laugh, and made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

Yukiko pouted. "I thought for sure Kai-chan was going to marry Shin-chan." Shinichi ignored his mother, used to her teasing comments. The former actress continued, "He even sent me a text saying he was going to!"

The blue eyed teen gave the magician a flat stare, and Kaito gave a weak chuckle while smiling nervously.

* * *

 _ **CHAPTERS LEFT: 1**_


	16. The Kudo's

_**FINAL CHAPTER**_

 **This story is now 75 pages long and nearly 40,000 words without the authors notes or omakes added in. I'm pretty sure it's the longest story I've written (and posted).**

* * *

Shinichi glanced at his pouting mother, wondering what she was upset about. His father chuckled and said, "She's upset that you aren't wearing that jacket Katio-kun got for you."

The blue eyed teen blinked. "It's dirty."

Yukiko huffed and muttered, "That didn't stop you from wearing it the past few days."

Shinichi gave her a flat stare. "That's why it's dirty." It wasn't that big of a deal anyway. It was just a jacket. That was comfortable. And made him feel a little safer when he wore it. But dirty clothes needed washed, and he wasn't going to wear it until it was clean again. No matter how much his mother pouted about it.

The Kudo family was currently sitting on the back porch while they watched the others run about. Chikage had offered to make dinner after sending out an order for groceries to be delivered and had taken over the kitchen with Shizuna who wanted to trade recipes. Yukiko had offered her help, but the two had turned her down. Shinichi hadn't missed the glance thrown in his direction.

Kaito was running from Saguru and Heiji, taunting the two and enraging them further, while their fathers watched. The blond's father was laughing, Toichi was smiling, and Heizo was shaking his head. Shinichi had a feeling that everyone was giving his parents time alone with him. It didn't really surprise him.

He was in the middle of his parents, his arms wrapped loosely around his legs and chin resting on his knees, his spare pair of glasses resting on his nose. "Do you think you'll tell them?" His father finally asked.

The blue eyed teen watched as Kaito summersaulted over Saguru and tripped Heiji so the two detectives went sprawling onto the ground, the Osakan on top of the blond. "I don't know."

He closed his eyes as his mother ran her fingers through his hair and leaned towards her touch slightly. It was the only form of touch he'd never asked her to stop, both because he liked the way she scraped her nails gently across his scalp and because he knew she enjoyed it as well. "You don't have to tell them everything," She said softly. "I'm sure they'd understand though."

"Mm." Even if they didn't Shinichi was sure they'd try. They were quiet for a while, and the blue eyed teen enjoyed the combination of the breeze blowing and his mothers' hand in his hair. It had been a long time since they'd been like this. Probably too long.

"Shin-chan," Said teen hummed softly to let her know he was listening, "Will you play again sometime for us?"

"After I practice a little." He wanted to remind his body of the notes and sounds before he played for anybody. He hadn't meant for his friends to hear him practicing, but it had felt good to play after so long, so he hadn't stopped.

"Have you thought about picking up soccer again?" His father wasn't much for physical affection, but reached out to smooth down Shinichi's hair when his mother finally withdrew her hand.

"Not really." He'd spent the past nearly four or five years inside avoiding going out unless he had to, and hadn't touched a soccer ball – except the plush one Saguru had won for him – in that time. He'd have to do some serious training if he wanted to get back to his previous level.

"The exercise would be good for you." Shinichi nodded but didn't answer. He knew his father wasn't going to force him to play again, and just wanted him to get outside a little more. "If you switched to goalie, you'd even get to keep gloves on." He smiled slightly at the joke and opened his eyes again.

His eyes watched his friends running around for a while before he whispered, "Kaa-san, thank you."

"For what?" She resumed running her fingers through his hair with a soft smile.

"For making that impossible bet." His parents just smiled.

* * *

Yukiko hadn't seen her little boy this relaxed or happy in a long time. He'd even smiled at Yusaku's joke, when normally he ignored them. Shinichi might not believe it, but he'd never truly recovered from what had happened. He'd kept himself locked away, seeming almost robotic in his actions and reactions at times. Nothing she had done helped, and in the end he just pushed her further away.

And now Kaito, Saguru, and Heiji had come barreling into her son's life, prying apart his defenses and forcing their way in. At first she'd been worried that they were pushing too hard, but seeing the results of their efforts before her own eyes, she wondered if she just hadn't been pushing hard enough.

Watching how the boys interacted during dinner made her very happy she'd decided to drag him to that party. Even if the others couldn't see it, Shinichi had changed since meeting them. He was willingly talking to them more, and his jabs were less harsh than normal.

It gave her hope that her little boy was finally coming back to her.

Yukiko hummed happily as she and Yusaku unpacked their things in the room Shinichi had been staying in. They'd decided on the plane over that they'd all stay in the Kuroba's villa rather than taking time to clean the Kudo's to stay there. If nothing else they could open the windows to air it out before they left, but the retired actress was more than happy to stay with her son.

And since all the beds were king sized, they could all share rather than be designated to the couches downstairs. Yukiko hadn't shared a bed with her son since his early elementary school days, and was excited to have a reason to do so once more. Maybe if she was lucky she could even cuddle him closer while he was asleep.

Giggling softly to herself at the thought, she hugged her husband and pressed a kiss to his cheek. After dinner, the teenagers had been sent out by Toichi to buy some fireworks to set off on their last night. His excuse for sending them now rather than later was so they wouldn't forget and could go back and get more later if they needed to. Yukiko was sure it was just so the parents could have some time alone to settle in.

"Yu-chan," She whispered, burying her face into her husbands' shoulder.

"I know Yukiko," He whispered back, wrapping his arms around her and using one to stroke her hair. "I know." The former actress stayed like that for a while before pulling back with a smile. Yusaku was smiling down at her, and she felt her heart flutter slightly. Even after all the years they'd been married, he was still able to make her heart beat like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Rising up on her toes, she leaned in to kiss her husband. "There are plenty of rooms in your own villa next door if you'd like privacy."

Yukiko giggled and pulled away. "But Shin-chan~ we want to stay here with you~"

Yusaku grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't worry, you'll find someone soon enough."

Shinichi's stare was flat and voice dry as he answered, "Yes, because my life is incomplete so long as I am alone and only by finding another who wants to shove their tongue down my throat will I be happy."

The former actress snorted in laughter. No matter how old her son got, he still thought kissing someone else on the mouth was gross. The teenager seemed to notice something and pointed towards her outfit. "Isn't that mine?"

Letting go of her husband, Yukiko spread her arms and twirled in a circle, the long white sleeves flapping a bit. "I washed it while you were out. It's really comfortable!" She giggled. "I can see why you like it so much."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and held out his hand. Pouting, she took off the jacket and handed it back to her son. Yusaku put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get you your own before we leave." She smiled and kissed him again before turning back to her baby who had slid into the jacket, pulling the hood up just enough so the edge rested over his eyebrows.

"You look so cute~" Yukiko cooed. "Doesn't he look adorable Yu-chan?"

Yusaku nodded with a chuckle. "You certainly look smaller."

The mother wanted nothing more than to wrap her adorable son in a hug, but refrained from doing so. She knew it made him uncomfortable. Shinichi ignored them and said, "Kuroba-san and Hattori-san want to make gingerbread houses and asked me to check if you two wanted to help."

The author raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Aren't those normally made around Christmas?"

The teenager shrugged. "Kuroba-kun was getting restless, so his mother proposed the idea to keep him from getting too annoying."

Yukiko laughed and nodded. "It sounds like fun!" Grabbing her husbands' hand, she offered her other to her son. The mother was happily surprised when he actually took it, and smiled widely before pulling her two boys down the stairs.

The Kudo family made it downstairs just in time to hear Chikage yell at her family. "Kaito! If you can't listen to what I tell you, then go wait outside! Toichi! Stop mixing the ingredients around!" The three peered inside the kitchen and stepped back when the Kuroba woman marched her husband and son out, pulling them along by their ears. "Out! You two are not allowed back inside until the cooking is _done_!"

Shizuna was chuckling to herself as she watched while stirring a large pot on the stove. The short brown haired woman stalked back in and smiled at the Kudo family. "I'm glad you're here! Kaito and Toichi tried to help, but they don't like following directions."

Yukiko giggled. "What do you want us to do Chi-chan?"

"Shizuna and I can handle putting the batter together, so why don't you three work on rolling it out and cutting out the shapes?"

Nodding, the Kudo mother turned to her family. "Yu-chan, how about you start rolling out the dough and Shin-chan and I will cut out the shapes." Her husband nodded and went to work. "Shin-chan, you start cutting out some walls and I'll make the roof pieces. We can make gingerbread people with the leftover dough!"

With five people working on it, it didn't take very long to have the gingerbread made, cut out, and baking in the oven. At Shizuna's suggestion, they'd made four large gingerbread houses, complete with one semi-large gingerbread person for everyone – and then used the leftovers to make gingerbread decorations such as trees, bushes, stones for a walkway, doors, and other miscellaneous objects.

Yukiko was pleased at their work, and excited to start decorating. Yusaku whipped up a large batch of icing while the gingerbread pieces cooled and split half of the white into smaller bowls, leaving the other four to color them. When everything was ready and set out for them to decorate, Shizuna rounded up those who hadn't helped bake.

"It smells so good~" Kaito said as he skipped inside.

"Wash your hands and then you can start putting the houses together," Chikage instructed.

Since the Kudo's had all helped with the baking, they'd already washed their hands and proceeded to begin assembling their house. Shinichi and Yusaku held the sides up while Yukiko used the icing to glue them together. She carefully sent along the edges, making sure she didn't miss anywhere.

"We'll save the roof for last," Yusaku said. "That way we can decorate the inside as well."

Shinichi nodded and picked up a piping bag full of black icing, reaching inside and carefully drawing lines on the walls. Yukiko giggled when she saw he was lining every wall with bookcases. Leaving him to his work, she picked up her gingerbread person and happily started coloring it with icing.

Watching the other families, she saw Saguru and his father neatly assembling their own little house. While the blond wasn't saying much, his father seemed perfectly happy to spend time with his son like that. Chikage was smiling as she watched her husband and son go all out with their decorations. Apparently they'd decided on a Halloween theme for theirs, if the bushes decorated like jack-o-lanterns were anything to go by.

Shizuna was teasing her son as he decorated. If Yukiko had to guess, she'd say it was about Kazuha-chan since the dark skinned teenager was blushing. She giggled slightly at the sight of Heizo carefully pipping icing along the edges of a door before sticking it onto the house.

She was glad that everyone was having fun. "KUROBA!" Everyone looked towards the enraged blond whose head was now dripping with yellow frosting. He was glaring at the laughing Kaito. Saguru attempted to squeeze red icing at the younger magician, but squeezed too hard and popped the icing bag. That sent Heiji and Kaito to the ground in laughter, while the blond's father laughed and the other adults chuckled.

Turning to her husband with a mischievous smile, she reached up and used the green icing in her hands to squirt some over his glasses. "I've always loved green eyes," She giggled. Yusaku's lips twitched as he took off his glasses.

She danced out of his reach when he tried to grab her, only to shriek in surprise when she felt icing hit the back of her head. Turning, she pouted at Chikage whose hand was covered in orange icing. "It matches your hair," She laughed.

Puffing out her cheeks, she pointed at the other woman and said, "This means _war_!" Icing flew and gingerbread houses were lost, but everyone was smiling and laughing as they pelted the others with icing. Yukiko was glad to see her son even getting into it, managing to hit Toichi with the black icing he'd been using and trip Kaito into landing in Saguru and Heiji's waiting icing filled arms, effectively covering the young magician in a variety of colors.

By the time they finished their little war, the kitchen was a mess of gingerbread pieces and icing. Shizuna looked around with a small smile. "I'm glad I helped bake, because now I don't have to worry about cleaning."

The look on the faces of those who hadn't helped bake were priceless. "I tried to help," Kaito whined, "Doesn't that count?"

Chikage folded her arms and shook her head. "Not a chance. Besides, you were the one who started it, therefore it's only fair you help clean it all up."

"Shin-chan and I are going to use the showers upstairs," Yukiko called. She wanted to get the icing off before it started to harden, and Shinichi had already slipped out of the kitchen. Making her way out of the warzone, she grabbed her pajamas and headed into the open bathroom for a nice hot shower.

She made sure she didn't spend too long so the others could have a chance to get clean, and called down that she was finished, adding that Shinichi was done too when she saw the door for the other bathroom open.

She found her son in their room, drying his hair with a towel on the bed. He was in the long cotton pants she'd brought with her in case he needed an extra pair of pajamas and the white jacket Kaito had gotten him that had only been spared because he'd taken it off and put it upstairs before they'd started decorating.

Crawling behind him, she reached for the towel and took over drying his hair. It was one of the little things he let her do, mainly because he tended to not dry it completely on his own. She smiled as she watched him pick up the soccer ball plush that was sitting next to him and absently play with it.

"I'm starting to think you might like Saguru-kun," She teased gently. "You seem pretty attached to the toy he gave you."

Yukiko had expected to either be ignored or get a dry comment back, but instead her son held the plush a little tighter and whispered, "First."

Finishing off drying his hair, she sat up against the headboard and patted the spot next to her. Once Shinichi had scooted back into the offered seat, she asked, "First what?"

He kept his eyes trained on the plush rather than look at her. "First time someone won something for me." Yukiko sat quietly and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She hadn't thought her son liked those types of things. He'd never seemed interested in them before. Seeing the small smile on his face, the mother figured there was more to it than what he'd said, but didn't push.

"I feel left out." Yusaku faked a hurt look as he closed the door. Yukiko giggled and motioned her husband over to the bed.

She shook her head when she noticed his hair was still damp. "You're a bad influence on our son," She stated, moving to dry her husband's hair.

"Maybe I just like having you dry my hair for me." The former actress smacked his arm lightly. Finishing drying the elder males' hair, she yawned and moved to crawl under the covers.

"It's late and we should get some sleep. Yu-chan, will you get the lights?" Snuggling under the covers, she waited as the other two slipped into bed – Shinichi in the middle on her and Yusaku – and said, "Goodnight Shin-chan, Yu-chan."

"Goodnight Yukiko, Shinichi." Yukiko was about to close her eyes when she felt her son shifting around. Before she could ask what was wrong, she felt two hesitant arms wrap around her.

"Goodnight kaa-san," Shinichi whispered. Tears sprung into Yukiko's eyes as she slowly wrapped her arms around the teenager and hugged him tightly. She pulled back just enough to kiss the top of his head before bringing him closer again. She wanted the hug to last for as long as it could before letting go.

Yusaku wrapped his arms around the two of them and pressed his own kiss to their son's head. Shinichi wasn't typically fond of hugging, so this unexpected display of affected made her heart soar. "Tou-san," Shinichi whispered, "Kaa-san, this isn't a dream, right? They're not going to leave, are they?"

Yukiko hugged her son tighter as her husband answered, "This is real Shinichi, and nobody's going to leave you. I promise."

"Is it okay be this happy?"

"Of course it is sweetheart," Yukiko whispered. "That's all your father and I want, is for you to be happy." She felt Shinichi nod and smiled, tears in her eyes. "Get some sleep Shin-chan." The teenager nodded again and tightened his own hold slightly before relaxing. Yukiko hummed softly and ran her fingers through his hair like she used to when he was little and having nightmares. "Goodnight baby," She whispered as Shinichi's breathing evened out, placing another kiss to his head. "We love you Shinichi."

* * *

 **KUDO FAMILY BONDING! HELL YES! I need more of Shinichi and his parents interacting. I want a spin-off dedicated to the Kudo family and their trips to Hawaii. Also, _Shinichi in middle school_. Has anyone else seen that Magic File (I'm pretty sure it's the second one, with the dog in the park)? Middle School Shinichi _crawled_ out of class and used chemicals from the science lab to fill the room with smoke so he could leave. Not to mention when he was arguing with Ran he started throwing his arms around like he was having a tantrum and _it was so cute and I need more of this!_ Not to mention I want to see more of Shinichi actually playing soccer. That one Special wasn't enough! _I need more middle school Shinichi!_**

www. myanimeon (.org) /watch /subbed/ detective-conan-magic-file-6-fantasista-flower-episode-1/ **(This is the link to the soccer special/ova/magic file thing - just take out the spaces).**

www. youtube (.com) /watch?v=LLFbQsh4JMM **(Here's the magic file with the dog in the park)**

 **Shinichi needed reassurance that everything that happened was real, and is finally starting to open up to his parents again. Yukiko is so happy!**

 **As for the gingerbread part, I wanted to do some type of activity, and was craving gingerbread, therefore - gingerbread houses. And of _course_ there had to be an icing war.**

 **I really need to give Hakuba's dad a name so I can stop calling him 'Saguru's father' or 'The blond's father' all the time. I'm open to any suggestions~**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought! (And damn it if I didn't nearly start crying as I wrote the ending to this chapter).**

 **I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I've also posted one more bonus chapter to present to you that doesn't have to do at all with the plot, but will just be like a long omake. I'm actually rather proud of this ending, and I hope you liked it!**

 **Thank you for sticking with me through all the chapters!**

 **See you in my next fic,**

 **~Akirafanatic**

 **And here's one last omake for this story since you all said you were upset I didn't include Shinichi saying anything about Kaito's planning on marrying him.**

"So when is the wedding?" Yukiko asked happily. "I think it should be a spring wedding!"

"I personally think a winter wedding would suit them better," Chikage mused.

"You seem to be forgetting something," Shinichi said, barely paying attention as he flipped through one of the books his father had brought. "He hasn't asked me yet."

Kaito grinned and pulled the book away from the blue eyed teen. "So does that mean you'd say yes?"

The magician received a flat stare. "I"d rather marry Hakuba-kun." Both Hakuba males choked on their respective drinks. "He's already made his intentions clear," The blond sputtered in denial, "And has been much more of a gentleman than you who flirts with everyone."

Yukiko nodded thoughtfully. "Saguru-kun would make a good son-in-law." The half brit seemed to have given up, as his head was steadily banging the coffee table again, "He's responsible, and I know he'd take good care of Shin-chan."

"Are you implying my Kaito wouldn't?" Chikage asked. "He'd make things much more fun!"

"That's true," The former actress admitted. She crossed her arms in thought before clapping with a wide smile, "I know! They should all three get married!" Kaito's face looked like he'd just had a taste of Shinichi's extremely bitter coffee as he looked at the now horrified blond. "What do you think Shin-chan?"

The blue eyed teen didn't bother looking up from the book. "That would be unfair to Hattori-kun, leaving him out like that."

"But Heiji already has Kazuha-chan," Shizuna said. "Although with how long it's taking him to confess I'm starting to think he just sees her as a sibling." The dark skinned detective had his hands clamped firmly over his ears and was muttering under his breath about not being able to hear them and crazy mothers.

"If all four got married," Chikage said, "Would they all wear suits? And who would be in white, and who in black?"

As the women began planning a wedding between the four, Kaito turned to the only teen who didn't seem to care about the conversation happening. "Why?"

"I'm not suffering alone."

"You don't look like you're suffering now!" Saguru grumbled.

"I am on the inside." Nobody believed him for a second.


	17. BONUS CHAPTER

**So, I tried to do a longer chapter this time. I'm not a fan of how it turned out, but this is a bonus chapter, so I didn't work really hard on it (I mainly just needed something to smile about after finishing chapter 16)**

* * *

Ran smiled as she greeted her childhood friend. Ever since he'd gotten back from his vacation, he'd seemed a lot happier. She wasn't the only one who'd noticed, and more of their classmates were actually approaching him.

She watched as one of the soccer clubs' players approached. "Kudo-kun," Hama said, getting the blue eyed teens' attention. "Do you have any ideas for the cultural festival?"

Everyone waited for the typical harsh response, but was surprised when it never came. Shinichi simply turned to the next page in his book and said, "Most other classes will be doing a café, so we should avoid that."

Hama opened and closed his mouth a few times in surprise before nodding. "R-Right."

Finally realizing he was the center of attention, Shinichi looked up. "What?"

The brown haired teen shook his head. "Are you feeling alright?" All he got was a raised eyebrow. "You're not…as mean as normal."

"I didn't realize you liked it when I was mean," Ran giggled at her friend's dry response. "I apologize; I'll make sure to be mean next time."

Hama flushed as the rest of the class laughed. "N-No! I just…it's surprising is all." He grinned, "It's nice."

Shinichi gave him a flat look. "Creepy." Ran couldn't help but snort in laughter. The entire class could tell that the glasses wearing teen lacked his usual coldness, and while his replies were similar to normal, they were more teasing then they were mean.

While Ran didn't know what happened during the vacation, she was just glad that her childhood friend was happy.

"What do you mean _creepy_? I was trying to _compliment_ you!"

"Key word: trying. I'm sure you'll get there one day."

Sonoko cut in before their bantering could go any further. "Alright people! We need ideas for the cultural festival!"

"How about a play?" A girl spoke up.

Sonoko shook her head, "The first years always put on a play, not to mention the drama club. Any other ideas?"

"How about a haunted house?" A guy in the back asked. "The third years aren't doing it this year because of the incident last year, so we could do it instead!"

Sonoko wrote the idea on the board. "All in favor of doing a haunted house?" Most of the class raised their hands. "Alright! We'll need people on costumes, makeup, inside to scare everyone, a few people to manage the line out front, some to go around advertising, and ideas for the type and layout! We'll work out a schedule with shifts later!"

The class excitedly began discussing what they could do and Ran turned to her friend. "Ne, Shinichi, did something good happen on your vacation?"

"Not really." Ran huffed but didn't push it. She could just ask Yukiko or Kaito about it later.

"What kind of haunted house do you think we should make?"

"Normally one would expect a haunted house to be _scary_."

"Mou, that's not what I meant and you know it." She was ignored as the other teen continued reading. "I think we should focus on zombies." When her friend didn't answer she crossed her arms. "Shinichi, are you even listening to me?"

"You want to focus on zombies."

"Aren't you even a little bit excited for the cultural festival?"

"No."

"Why not? You skipped out on it completely last year too."

"Too many people."

Ran sighed. "You're not going to bail out this year too, are you?" She looked pleadingly at him, "We can put you somewhere there won't be a lot of people!"

Sonoko slammed her hands down on Shinichi's desk before the teen could reply. "Of course he's not going to bail! We need all hands on deck if we want to make this an awesome haunted house!" The blue eyed teen glared at the short haired female, but Sonoko just waved it away. "We'll put you somewhere in the haunted house. All you'll have to do is stand there and scare people."

"Wouldn't you be better for that job?"

Sonoko's eyebrow twitched. "What did you say?"

"Having trouble hearing now?"

Ran sighed. "Shinichi, we're going to need you this year. Please come?" The blue eyed teen sighed, and the karate practitioner knew he would come. Turning back to her girlfriend, she shared her idea of zombies.

Putting one hand on her chin in thought, Sonoko nodded. "Zombies are pretty popular right now." He turned and addressed the class, "All in favor of doing zombies for the haunted house!" She got a resounding okay from everyone. "Put your name on the blackboard under which job you'd like to have! We can rearrange people if there are too many or too little in one area!"

Ran smiled at her girlfriend. "I'm glad we put you in charge."

"You're very good at yelling at people," Shinichi muttered, earning a glare from both women.

"Just for that, you're pulling a _double_ shift." The blue eyed teen rolled his eyes but kept quiet, knowing that if he said anything else it'd just get worse for him.

* * *

Shinichi officially hated Sonoko. The brown haired girl was grinning and had her arms folded over her chest. "Minami-chan is sick, and you're the only one close enough to her size to fit who isn't already busy."

The blue eyed teen glared at the heiress, the two standing off in the middle of the classroom while their classmates watched in amusement. Ran was smiling apologetically behind her girlfriend, but he could tell she was finding the entire thing hilarious.

Thanks to Sonoko's insistence, they'd ended up deciding to do a haunted house with zombies that was based off Romeo and Juliet. Minami had been chosen to play the zombie mother of Romeo. Shinichi was just glad that she hadn't been cast as Juliet. Still, he wasn't keen on wearing the shredded gown lying on the table between him and Sonoko.

He was originally just supposed to be one of the extra zombies around the haunted house, but now that Minami had called in sick, Sonoko had decided he was the perfect replacement. Unfortunately for him, Ran agreed.

"Please Shinichi? We need someone to fill in or the scene will look strange." Said scene was one of Sonoko's doing. Zombie Romeo was trying to plead with his zombie mother to let him meet with zombie Juliet, though all his zombie mother was supposed to do was glare at him. So really, all he had to do was stand and glare at people. It was actually better than his original role of limping after the customers with a fake rapier.

Still, he didn't want to wear the dress. It was needlessly complicated to put on and he'd heard Minami complaining about how it itched. Not to mention there was a hole in the left middle where they planned to paint the skin to look like his insides were falling out.

"I'm sure you can find someone else to do it."

Sonoko grinned wider as she leaned forward, "You either accept this new role, or I'm putting you in charge of attracting guests." Shinichi grimaced. He'd have to force his way through the crowds and _yell_ to be heard. The heiress knew damn well he'd do anything to avoid that job. So did the rest of their class. He didn't have a choice.

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at her triumphant look as he reluctantly took hold of the outfit in front of him. Ran sent him a small smile and pointed towards their makeshift changing rooms. "I'll help you put it on."

"You'll look _fantastic_ ," Sonoko called as his friend pushed him into the changing rooms.

"She's doing this out of spite," Shinichi grumbled, loosening his tie and shrugging off his blazer. Ran just shook her head and arranged the tattered gown so it was ready to be put on. Undoing the buttons on his shirt, he folded it and set it on top of his blazer before pulling off the t-shirt he had under that.

"Put your arms in first," The karate practitioner said, holding the bottom of the gown up. Shinichi did as instructed and placed his arms through the long and tight sleeves, Ran helping to make sure he didn't accidently put his hands through the holes they'd cut.

Once his arms were safely in, she helped pull the tattered gown up and over his head. He struggled slightly as she worked on pulling it down, grunting a little as his head was forced through the opening. Either this dress was made to be impossible to move in, or Sonoko had lied about him being the right size. He was inclined to believe the second theory, but Ran didn't seem worried about the fit.

He apparently wasn't supposed to be able to bend in the dress, so his back was ramrod straight and he was forced to have ran help him take his pants off. He was just grateful it was her and not Sonoko or anyone else. "You could have warned me it would be impossible to move in this thing," He muttered. "This feels more like a torture device than an article of clothing."

Ran laughed as she folded his pants and set them on top of the rest of his clothes. "That was the style in that time period," She explained. "And I haven't even laced you up yet." He choose not to comment and instead frowned down at himself. It didn't even look like a dress anymore with the amount of holes and rips it had.

Ran had him turn so his back was to her, but before she could start lacing the back up, Sonoko called, "Kudo, don't put the dress on yet!"

"What's wrong Sonoko?" Ran called.

"I forgot about the makeup!"

"You can do that after, can't you?"

"No! I mean for his body! We have to paint it before he gets dressed!"

"No." Shinichi crossed his arms as much as he could and turned back to glare at his childhood friend.

"I'll go talk to her," Ran said, slipping out of the dressing room. Shinichi refused to have people touch him more than necessary, and since it was already going to be dark in the haunted house, there was no need to paint his entire body. He didn't even want his face painted.

He waited in the changing room as he listened to the low voices in the classroom. He didn't care what Sonoko said, he was _not_ going to let them paint his entire body. "Shinichi," Ran's voice called from just outside. "How about just your legs?"

"No."

"What about just your arms?"

"No."

He heard a sigh and then more low whispering before Ran slipped back inside. "Sonoko finally relented, but she said she wants to put more detail into your face makeup to make up it." Shinichi grimaced but nodded, knowing he wouldn't get anything better. Ran smiled and held up a light blond wig. "We borrowed this from the drama department. It was their only spare one. Some of the others already detangled it, but after you put it on we'll have to style it."

She set it aside and had the blue eyed teen turn around. He groaned when his friend pulled the laces in back as hard as she could. "Do you want me to stop breathing that badly?"

"Sorry Shinichi, but it's supposed to be tight."

"And I'm supposed to be able to breathe." Ran ignored him and continued lacing the back up. Stepping back, she had him turn back towards her before she eyed him up and down. Nodding to herself, she held up a wig cap.

"We'll put this on and do your makeup before putting on the wig, alright?" Shinichi gave her a flat stare. He didn't have a choice in the matter. His supposed friend just smiled and pushed his hair back, securing it with bobby pins, and carefully putting the wig cap on so it covered his entire hair. She gave in another glance and Shinichi frowned as her lips twitched. "Don't worry, it'll look better once we get the makeup and wig on."

Ran grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the changing room, pushing him down into an empty chair and keeping him there with her hands on his shoulders. Sonoko grinned as she stood in front of him. "I _told_ you that you were the right size." Before he could retort, she waved over a small cluster of girls. "Go ahead and start the makeup! We need to be ready in an hour!" She paused and held out her hand. "Give me your gloves, glasses, and ear things."

"No." Shinichi's glared and folded his arms as much as the dress would allow.

"We don't have time for this – give them to me."

" _No_." Shinichi was so focused on glaring at the brown haired girl he missed it when Ran's hands disappeared from his shoulders. He was jerked out of his glaring contest – literally – when his childhood friend forcefully pulled his arms apart and held them that way – Shinichi hated the fact she was so strong at moments like these – while Hama kept him from kicking out by gripping his legs.

The blue eyed teen growled at the soccer players wide grin while some of their other classmates attempted to wrestle his gloves off his clenched fists. He refused to take them off. Wasn't it bad enough the gown was nearly rags? Why did he have to take his gloves off too? In his mind, he was already exposing too much skin.

He couldn't do much against Sonoko snatching his glasses away and removing his earplugs, but he'd be damned if he let them take his gloves too. After five minutes of uselessly pulling at his gloves, the heiress finally huffed and allowed him to keep them on.

Shinichi threw his old friend a betrayed look and just got a small apologetic smile in return. The traitor. Ran's hands returned to his shoulders as the group of girls in charge of the makeup approached. Hama didn't let go of his legs either, though that was probably due to Ran telling him not to stop until they were finished. She didn't believe he wouldn't kick the girls, accidently or not.

He instinctively tried to back away as one of the girls reached forward, his hand coming up to swat hers away. "Shinichi, I swear I will tie you down if I have to." Frowning, the blue eyed teen forced himself to keep his hands down, but it was harder to stop moving his head away when one of the girls' hands reached for his face.

"What?" He asked through clenched teeth as the group made no move to start the makeup.

The one on his right flushed and scrambled to pull out some brushes. "S-Sorry."

The one on his other side just smiled and commented, "I'm jealous. You have such nice skin. How do you keep it so clear?" He nearly ground his teeth together as she ran a finger down his cheek. "And soft?"

"Sawada-san," Ran said, smiling at the girl on his left, "Shinichi _really_ hates it when people touch him, so…"

The dark haired girl nodded. "Right, sorry." The two quickly got to work, the third handing them what they needed and cleaning their supplies as they went on case they needed them for something else later. Shinichi kept his glare focused on the wall opposite where he was sitting, his teeth clenched as he tried his hardest to keep still. He would get Sonoko back for this.

The blue eyed teen jerked and attempted to kick Hama when he felt the teens' hand grip his lower leg. "Shinichi!" Ran scowled at her friend, only to notice that the soccer player holding his legs had one hand partly up under said friends' dress. "Hama-kun," She said lowly, gripping Shinichi's shoulders painfully, "What are you doing to Shinichi?"

The male blinked and flushed a deep red when he realized what it looked like. "Wa – No! I wasn't – I – I just – He has great legs!" The entire class went still and gaped at the flushing soccer player who'd just yelled. Shinichi's fists clenched as he glared at the teen before him. "I just…the soccer team could use some more players…and he has some good legs…long…" He trailed off as his blush deepened.

The silence persisted until the blue eyed teen ground out, "Your hand."

The soccer player looked up and then down at his hand, which was still gripping Shinichi's leg under his skirt. "S-Sorry!" He quickly pulled his hand out and kept his burning face turned towards the ground. It wasn't until Sonoko yelled at everyone that time was running out did the class start moving again.

When the makeup team finished with him, Sonoko and Ran took charge of taking care of the wig. The karate practitioner nearly kicked Hama away, but the soccer player bolted the second he was told he could let go of Shinichi's legs.

When Sonoko finally dubbed his ready, Shinichi was just about ready to kill someone. He'd had more people touching him in the last _hour_ then he typically did in a _month or longer_. Not to mention the dress was uncomfortable and hard to move and breathe in. Ran helped him stand and stood back as he followed the heiress to his position.

He wasn't sure if it was the makeup or his glare that promised murder that had people nearly diving out of his path. Standing on the chair that had been covered with black paper, he crossed his arms and raised his head slightly, glaring down at the nearly whimpering zombie Romeo below him. Sonoko seemed very pleased. "This is going to be the best haunted house _ever_!" Shinichi's glare increased and zombie Romeo's knees almost buckled under him.

If there was anything the blue eyed teen had enjoyed from his forced part, it was the screams of absolute terror people gave when they finally caught sight of him. Since he was on a chair, their eyes were drawn to zombie Romeo first before following his gaze up towards where Shinichi was. He was pretty sure at least one peson had fainted and been carried out by their friend. When the time to switch had come – for everyone but him because Sonoko had kept her promise about giving him a double shift – the first zombie Romeo had almost teleported to the exit in an order to get out from under Shinichi's glare.

Ran happily informed him while helping him take off the dress and makeup that he'd been the most terrifying part of the entire haunted house. The blue eyed teen only hoped that Minami was back tomorrow, because he _refused_ to go through that again.

When he got home that night, he took a long shower and curled up in his white jacket, clutching his plush soccer ball and proceeding to cocoon himself in two different blankets. He'd ignored his mothers' chuckling and questions about how the festival had gone, not in the mood to talk about it.

The second day, Shinichi ignored everybody's stares as he arrived dressed in his oversized white jacket, one of his mothers' white infinity scarves, and extra-long gloves. He'd had too much touching and had decided extra barriers had been necessary to avoid anoter round. He didn't care what Sonoko said, he wasn't going through it again even if Minami was gone.

"Shinichi?" Ran asked hesitantly, attempting to catch a glance at his face. "You _are_ Shinichi, right?" The bundled teen nodded but didn't answer. He made his way over to an empty corner and sat down, pulling the end of his large jacket over his knees. He wasn't planning on moving anytime soon. He hadn't even wanted to come, but his parents had forced him to.

Ran crouched in front of him and pulled his hood up just enough to show his eyes as the scarf was keeping his nose and mouth hidden from view. By the look on her face she didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. "Shinichi, why are you dressed like that?"

"Too much touching." His words were muffled, but his friend seemed to understand and smiled a little.

"Minami's back today, so you don't have to fill in for her again. And since you did a double shift yesterday, I talked Sonoko into letting you off today. You can go around the rest of the festival if you want."

He nodded but didn't move. There would be even more people today, since it was open to outsiders. There was no way he was leaving his spot. Ran sighed and shook her head but didn't say anything, instead going to help the others in getting ready.

Unfortunately for him, his mother had apparently told Kaito, Saguru, and Heiji about his schools' cultural festival, as the three walked into the room half an hour later. Their gazes landed on him, but he ignored them.

"Shin-chan~" Kaito raised a finger to poke him and Shinichi growled, causing the magician to pull his finger back.

Heiji laughed and turned to Ran. "Ya forget ta feed 'im or somethin'?" The long haired brunette sighed and explained about his misadventures the day before. By the end, Heiji and Kaito were laughing while Saguru's lips were twitching in amusement.

"Poor Shin-chan." The magician waved his arms and made a blanket appear from nowhere, getting a small applause from the rest of the class. He draped it over the blue eyed teen to add another barrier against the outside world. "You probably don't want to come around the festival with us then?" Shinichi gave him a flat stare.

"We'll bring you back something for lunch," The blond promised, gripping Kaito's arm and pulling him from the room. Shinichi sighed and wondered why he was even there. He wanted to go home.

* * *

 **So here's the bonus chapter.**

 **Also, if you watched the magic files I linked you to, Hama is one of Shinichi's middle school teammates for soccer. The other characters I just gave random names.**


	18. AN

For those who haven't seen it yet, there's a sequel up called _Secrets_. I think most have seen it, but I'll leave this here just in case.


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